


Insemination and Other Indiscretions

by melofttroll



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hales, Alternate Universe, Angst, Artifical insemination, Creeper Peter, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jane the Virgin au, Kidnapping, M/M, Mates, Mpreg, No Kate Argent appearance, Past Derek/Kate mention, Slow Burn, Sterek endgame, Virgin Stiles, accidental insemination, full shift derek, werewolves are known
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-18 22:42:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 55,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15496320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melofttroll/pseuds/melofttroll
Summary: And oh, was he charming.  Especially the way he leaned in, and cupped Stiles’ cheek, and kissed him.It wasn’t so charming when he never called, and the next thing Stiles heard was Derek engaged, traipsing about the Mediterranean.What a dick.  What an absolute ass.  What a complete and total…Sterek Jane the Virgin AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is sometimes loosely and sometimes strongly based on Jane the Virgin (mostly season one, I'm not going into it too deep). There's no Michael/Raf/Jane love-triangle and it's Sterek endgame. No character death, Hales all live.
> 
> Very hand-wavy when it comes to Mpreg, all genders are capable of child-bearing in this universe, though it's not A/B/O dynamics. There will be a non-graphic birth, and the usual etcs that come with mpreg/mates fics. This also contains mentions of infidelity since Derek has feelings for Stiles while still being married to Jennifer. But as nothing physical happens in that regard, I didn't tag it.
> 
> 12 chapters, but subject to change depending on length.

"Okay, things not to bring up. Let’s start with the three “I’s.” Insemination, infidelity, and any other indiscretions."

Petra- Jane the Virgin

\- - - 

_“…and what is it you really want?” His voice was lowered, a soft not-quite whisper between the two of them, was captivating, and glint of the afternoon sun illuminated the kaleidoscope of color in his eyes._

_Stiles’ heart hammered against his chest as Derek reached across the table. His fingers, blunt-tipped where claws would grow when he willed them, dragged along Stiles’ knuckles, and their gazes never wavered. “I don’t…” He flushed, clearing his throat and glancing away. “I want to be a writer.”_

_When he was brave enough to look back, he saw a grin blooming over Derek’s face, lighting him up in a way Stiles wasn’t used to seeing on the stoic heir of the Hale Fortune. “That’s…” Derek laughed gently, and before Stiles could be offended, he leaned in even closer. “That’s brave.”_

_“Stupid,” Stiles corrected. “It’s stupid. No one makes money as a writer. I don’t want to be stuck here at this stupid resort the rest of my life slinging drinks and…” He stopped and flushed. “I mean. Uh…”_

_Derek’s hand lifted, touched the curve of his cheek, his head shaking with mirth. “Stiles. It’s okay. I don’t want to see a mind as vibrant as yours waste away here, either.”_

_And oh, was he charming. Especially the way he leaned in, and cupped Stiles’ cheek, and kissed him._

_It wasn’t so charming when he never called, and the next thing Stiles heard was Derek engaged, traipsing about the Mediterranean._

_What a dick. What an absolute ass. What a complete and total…_

“You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?”

Stiles’ gaze snapped up and he rolled his eyes. “Shut up. No. I don’t…I mean how dare you even…Scott.” He huffed, crossing his arms. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Whatever dude. You have Derek Face again and it’s been like five years.” Scott picked at his cuticle for a second, and Stiles shuddered and looked away. “Anyway, you’re working tonight, right?”

Stiles sighed. “Yeah, dude. I can’t fucking believe you talked me into this stupid party. This is the worst. Last year some dude literally grabbed my asshole. Like shoved his fingers between my cheeks and went like digging for…”

“Thanks, I don’t need the mental picture,” Scott replied. “And it’s not going to be like that, okay? It’s just champagne tray duty. Couple of hours, then they’ll all get shuffled into the banquet hall and we can get side-work done and then it’s over.”

Stiles gave him a flat look. “Uh huh. And how fast is your ass going to abandon me for Kira…”

Scott’s smile went soft and sheepish. “I promise this time I’m going to stick around…”

“Until she smiles at you and then you abandon me to the fucking sharks, Scotty.” Stiles leaned back and rested his head against the cool brick. “Do you think he’ll be there?”

Scott blinked at him, then rolled his eyes. “Oh my god, Stiles. You have to let it go. He’s a huge dick. Like a rich, snobby, awful piece of shit. The exact person you _hate_ …”

“I know,” Stiles groaned. “I know. I know he is.”

“Last year he was arrested in Paris, remember?” Scott prodded. “For punching that guy and knocking him into the Seine. Then he just threw a wad of cash at the boat guy and walked off. Who even does that?”

“Rich assholes,” Stiles said miserably. “But he’s so fucking pretty. And Scott, I swear, there was something there between us like…I don’t even know how to explain it.”

“Probably some type of weird werewolf voodoo. Which by the way, you heard about his cancer?”

Stiles felt his stomach sink, because yeah, he had. He hadn’t even known werewolves could get cancer considering they healed from almost everything else. But it did make sense logically. Dogs had all kinds of diseases that humans didn’t get—not that werewolves were dogs but…yeah.

Anyway he didn’t know the exact specifications of it, just that Derek had gone into treatment, and had come out married and more chill than he was when he’d left to terrorize Europe and its surrounding countries with his playboy bullshit.

Stiles really needed to kill this crush. “I was just wondering anyway,” he said, only a touch defensive. “I mean, it’s Talia’s retirement party, and Derek being the only Hale boy—with their weird-ass traditions…”

“Right?” Scott said, and picked up his phone to thumb through his texts. “Men run business, women run politics and pack. Like why do they separate genders for that shit? It’s not even a baby thing considering just as many werewolf men can bear as women. I mean, it’s higher than the rate of humans.”

Stiles flushed. “Speaking of…”

Scott looked up at him sharply. “Speaking of?” he pressed.

“I’m getting a birth control shot tomorrow.”

Scott sat up straight and practically flung his phone across the room. “What? Dude! What! So you’re finally…”

Stiles cheeks bloomed hot, and he tried to fight back the wave of shame and imagined disappointment because all he could do right then was hear his mother waxing poetic about the magic of waiting until it was right, until you had met The One, and got married and…

“So you and Danny…”

Stiles shrugged. “Dunno, dude. I guess I’m just…I’m tired of making it a thing. And Malia dumped my ass six months ago for not putting out…”

“Fuck that,” Scott said through gritted teeth. “Anyone who’s going to dump you because you won’t fuck them isn’t worth it.”

“Yeah well, I’m also tired of getting dumped,” Stiles said, just a little petulance in his tone. “And I don’t know, but things got a little hot and heavy with Danny last weekend and I want to, you know, make sure nothing funky happens.”

“You want me to go with you?” Scott asked, almost excited.

Stiles rolled his eyes. “No, dude. I’m good. Besides my appointment is at like eight, which means I’m going to be useless for hours. Especially if I get stuck closing tonight.”

“What the hell is all this? McCall? Billinski? Am I paying you two to sit around and to each other’s nails?”

Stiles jumped at the harsh bark from the bar manager, Finstock, but fixed him with a level stare. “If you did, you’d be paying me a hell of a lot more than you are right now. You should see the pedi I gave Reyes last week. You’d only be so lucky, Scotty.”

Scotty just sighed and pushed himself away from the bench. “Come on. We have to set up anyway, and the faster we get done, the longer our break.”

“I knew I liked you for a reason, McCall,” Finstock said. A lie, but both of them were willing to let it go since Scott was right.

Stiles took a glance back at the changing room and took a minute to wish he was anywhere else but here.

_ _ _ 

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this alone.” Derek pressed the glass to his forehead, the condensation cooling against his sweating brow. The phone was making his ear hot, and the sound o Laura’s excuses on the other end of the line were making him irritated. “Cora’s in Belize right now, Amy’s…I don’t even know where…”

“Hong Kong, on mom’s orders,” Laura reminded him.

Derek huffed. “Maggie’s in Mexico with investors and dad…” Derek went quiet, and he could hear the uptick in Laura’s heartbeat, even through the shoddy connection. He cleared his throat. “You’re here, I just don’t see why you can’t…”

“Look, I got in early, I have appointments at the ass-crack of dawn, and I want to surprise Anna. I haven’t seen her in two weeks, and I feel like…” Laura went quiet for a moment. “Things just…aren’t great.”

Derek squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, though she couldn’t see him. “Yeah. I get that.”

“Der,” Laura said quietly, “I know things with Jen have been tense and uncomfortable, but…”

“It’s more than that,” Derek said, and leaned back against the uncomfortable cushion on the over-priced chair Jennifer had picked out for their suite. Everything in the place was expensive, and impossible to sit on unless you were trying to torture state secrets out of someone. He shifted, but it didn’t lessen the ache in his back, which was saying something considering he was a damn werewolf. “Just…since the surgery, things have been weird. And I’m…I want…”

“Lunch,” Laura blurted.

Derek frowned. “I’m not hungry, Laura, I need to talk to you.”

“No, moron,” she said impatiently. “Pick up Angelos and bring it to my office tomorrow. We’ll have lunch and we can talk this out. Okay?”

He sighed, but it was better than nothing. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Talk soon.”

“Love you, babe,” she said, and then the line went dead.

Derek let the phone drop from his fingers, then downed the iced, watered down scotch which was wolfsbane-free, so did nothing for him. But he liked the taste, and a little bit of the burn as he swallowed it down.

After a minute, he pushed himself up and straightened his pants, glowering at the white linen like it offended him. He wasn’t even sure where the fuck they even came from, or where the fuck half his wardrobe was. He was damn sure Jennifer had everything to do with it. The only thing she hadn’t touched was his leather jacket, but she knew he’d start WWIX if she came anywhere near that or his Camaro. All the same, he was starting to realize just how much she’d started to shape him the moment he’d agreed to marry her.

Granted, he needed some work. He’d gone a little off the deep-end after the whole Kate fiasco, and he was fairly sure his parents encouraged the marriage only because they were desperate for someone to settle him down. The fact that the hotel and his family survived was a miracle—second only to the miracle of finding the hidden camera footage and getting Kate arrested, tried, and convicted. But that had done little to ease his guilt over the part he played—a young, stupid kid desperate for his mate, drawn in by a spray of pheromones and deception.

Logic told him he was manipulated—both his age and his senses. But guilt rarely listened to rationale. So he let himself go, and went a little batty.

Stepping out onto his terrace, he leaned against the railing and closed his eyes. Below, he could hear the heartbeats of the staff setting up for his mother’s retirement party. Derek would be named CEO of the Triskelion, and it’s not like Talia was going anywhere—she’d be holding Derek’s hand until he felt confident on his feet. But with his dad having abandoned the family for some foreign dignitary and leaving his mom high and dry, Derek felt like his world was starting to spin out of control again.

He’d only just gotten his bearings after the cancer. After losing his ability to procreate—naturally, anyway. Jen had been pestering him about the sample Laura was holding for him, but he wasn’t…well, he didn’t want to say he wasn’t ready for kids. He just wasn’t ready for them with her.

Ever.

Because Derek Hale desperately wanted a divorce.

Kate Argent hadn’t been his mate, but Derek was pretty sure he’d met the guy already. A summer temp working the lounge bar five or six years before. Days before Derek met Kate. Derek was caught in a rain-storm, and the guy had let him into the lounge to dry off. Derek was expecting a quick drink and then to rush off, and it had turned into three hours of conversation that had flowed easier than anything had ever been. He remembered buttermilk pale skin, dotted with moles, eyes the color of whiskey, an obnoxious laugh that made him feel like he was flying.

Then the guy had disappeared, and Kate had swanned in with her smile and compliments, and metaphorical claws.

The place nearly burned to the ground, his family had nearly died, and Derek had run.

He knew his main focus now had to be repairing his reputation with the investors and the hotel partners, and a little bit his mother—though she insisted she understood why he’d done what he did. Jen was at his side too, strong and intelligent, but there was just something about her Derek couldn’t bring himself to trust.

He’d just been grateful to meet someone who knew but didn’t care about his past. And someone who didn’t go running when the doctors filled him with wolfsbane and removed his testicles. He was the sole heir and illness had ruined the one thing he could give this family.

Dragging a hand down his face, Derek glanced down at the small tents being put up around the pool. His eyes narrowed, and he wished he was wearing his glasses because apparently lycanthropy from birth didn’t save him from myopia. The blurry specks were moving around, and he moved to step back when the breeze suddenly kicked up and something hit his nostrils.

They flared, and he took in huge lungfuls to try and place the smell. It was hypnotizing—not in an overwhelming way that Kate had used the pheromones, but…in another. Like the way you want to wrap yourself in a sheet fresh from the dryer when you were a little kid on a winter morning.

Derek leaned further off the balcony, his eyes squinting, desperate to see if he could make out what—or who—it was.

“Derek!”

He jumped and pulled himself back, whirling to see Jennifer standing there with her arms crossed. “What the hell are you doing? That’s dangerous.”

Derek rolled his eyes, then breezed past her into their suite. “I thought you were busy.”

“I was, thank you,” she said with a sniff. “Two charity meetings, which is going to drum up some decent press for the new pool naming ceremony.”

Derek fought the urge to scoff. Like they needed more press. Like the rich assholes who stayed here needed a new pool. Like that was doing any good for anyone in the community who actually needed it. But he didn’t have that kind of say. Not yet. Not even after tonight.

He was on probation for a year, and then…

Well.

There was still the board—namely Peter, who would likely never trust him again.

“What do you want, Jen?” he asked tiredly, walking into their room to dig through the wardrobe. Everything there was navy, tan, or white. Stripes, he thought disgustedly, tossing a couple of polos aside. Where the fuck where all his henleys? 

He felt a warm hand touch his waist, and he suppressed the urge to pull away from it. “I just…I missed you, is all,” she said, her voice low and suggestive. “I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, and then meetings all day. I thought we could…”

“My mother’s expecting me,” he said in a rush. He found a pair of dark slacks, and found the least offensive button-up to go with it. “Where the hell are all my other clothes?”

Jen’s nose wrinkled when he caught her face in his periphery. “Trust me, you look better in that.”

Derek clenched his jaw, but said nothing. He would only have to bide his time a few months longer, and then he could serve her with the papers, and be done with it. There was a prenup to contend with, but he knew they were well within the five years which prevented her from taking him to the cleaners, and he just had to appease the board long enough so they wouldn’t accuse him of torpedoing his personal life through divorce in order to shirk his hotel responsibility.

He noticed the sour look on her face, but he ignored it in favor of escape. His mom wasn’t expecting him, but he didn’t think she’d be put out about his visit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I was like, "Updates on Mondays?" Haha well apparently also Tuesdays, and whenever I finish the next chapter days. I'm not good at sticking to an actual schedule so I apologize for that.
> 
> But on the good news side, you get two chapters in two days so yay?
> 
> Anyway thanks for comments so far! I am living for them.
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: mentions of vomit and urine (typical medical, pregnancy stuff). Nothing graphic.

“I can’t believe he’s making us wear this,” Stiles complained, plucking at the edge of his see-through white shirt. “I feel so objectified.”

“Wow, that must be so awful for you,” came the deadpan voice from behind the bar.

Stiles turned to see Erica there, her blonde curls a picture of perfection, giving him a flat look as she gripped her almost completely exposed hip. His cheeks flushed but he refused to give an inch. “You know what, you’re actually friends with the Hales, okay,” Stiles said, flailing his hands up. “You had dinner with them for New Years at that fancy ass million dollar a plate party…”

“It was five grand a plate, and it was for charity, and no amount of money makes me feel okay about wearing a fucking glitter bikini while I’m slinging drinks,” she said, her words sharp and pointed. “But we all have a damn job to do and apparently even management has to sell their bodies as eye-candy to all these weird, rich white, ancient fucko’s so they’ll like, give to poor kids and shit.”

Stiles highly doubted any of this money was going to any kind of charity. Stiles understood that some people were just rich, and the Hales had been rich since the dawn of time or whatever. I mean, they were basically werewolf royalty, and Laura got a damn porche for her sixteenth birthday—or so the rumors told him. But Stiles also understood that there was no such thing as a good rich person. A good rich person would not be that rich, because they would be actively trying to use their money to help those who needed it.

People like him, with one single parent and drowning in old medical debt and fresh student loans, and crying himself to sleep every night as he contemplated how the _fuck_ he was going to make it through grad school. But that was his own problem, and it wasn’t the Hales’ fault. Even if his misguide crush on Derek—and his misguided heart-ache—made it easy for him to blame the guy.

Which, speaking of…

Stiles turned in a slight circle, trying to surreptitiously scan the crowd to see if the guy was around. The only thing he could see was Scott rocking his glitter booty shorts and handing out hors d’oeuvres like he was born to do it. Of course those dimples and crooked grin made it far too easy for people to let loose their wallets and throw ones on his tray. At least he’d make his tuition payment without issue. Stiles couldn’t be mad at him about that, and the day Scott was certified as a vet, Stiles would be there cheering him on.

He cleared his throat and tugged at the hem of his shirt, and grabbed the fresh tray of champagne glasses Erica was trying to give him. “This better be worth it. The tip pool tonight better be fucking amazing.”

She gave him a raised eyebrow, but said nothing as Stiles wandered back into the crowd.

_ _ _ 

“So, you wanna tell me why it looks like someone killed your cat?”

Derek snorted. “I hate cats.”

Boyd gave him a no-nonsense, pointed look. “My point stands here, man. What’s wrong?”

Derek dragged a hand down his face, and peered through the gauzy curtain of one of the many cabanas, at a small crowd Jen was entertaining with her charming smile and sweet laugh. She was standing next to Duke—an old friend of the Hales. He was just as wealthy, though most of his fortune dealt with shady business overseas. He’d been gone years, and had gone quiet for a while, and Derek thought maybe the guy was done with US business. Then he’d returned with a huge entourage, freshly blind, and a new edge to him that made Derek feel very uneasy.

He seemed to be the same guy, but there was something about him Derek couldn’t put his finger on. Whatever the case, Derek was grateful Duke had Jen’s attention. He was hanging on her arm like a guide, and leaning into her every so often, making her giggle.

“You want me to go break that shit up?” Boyd’s voice interrupted Derek’s spiraling thoughts, and he startled.

“No. No, I really don’t.” Derek reached for his glass of scotch, frowning into it when he realized it was empty. Of course—almost like magic—it was refilled by a passing server showing a lot of skin, and wearing a lot of glitter. What the hell was his mom thinking with this whole vibe? “I uh…I’m. I think I’m going to ask for a divorce.”

Boyd, who had just lifted the bottle of beer to his lips, choked on the liquid, swiping at his mouth with the back of his hand as he glared at Derek. “Are you serious.” It wasn’t exactly a question, but Derek answered it like one.

“Yeah. I am.” He ran his hand through his hair, not caring if he fucked up the perfected gel the stylist had spent half an hour applying. “I’m miserable, man, and we don’t love each other.” Derek looked across the courtyard, but wherever Jen had gotten to, she was no longer in his eyeline. It made him feel better, not worse, and he added that to the list of reasons why this was the better idea.

Boyd gave him a careful look. “Are you sure about that, man? I mean, she stayed with you through surgery and treatments and…”

Derek gave him a flat look. “Which has nothing to do with the five million she’s due if we divorce after the three year mark.”

“And you’re at what now?”

“Almost two,” Derek admitted. Well within the timeframe to finalize a divorce before she could take him for everything. “I’m not trying to leave her destitute, but I’m also tired of being miserable. It’s not like she didn’t zero in on me for a reason. She knew who I was, knew what she wanted. There’s no shortage of other people who would be willing to take her on.”

“Harsh,” Boyd said quietly.

“Yeah well, you don’t have to worry about that shit, do you? You got bit, and met your mate in like four minutes,” Derek said, just a touch bitter.

Boyd snorted. “Is that what this is about?”

Derek felt his cheeks go a little red, but he shrugged and turned his eyes up toward the sky. The lights at the party were too bright to make out most of the stars, so he let his glow the electric blue of his wolf to see them. He could make out the gas waves, twinkling, brighter than any human would be able to see.

“I know him. Or…I knew him. He was in Beacon Hills once.”

Boyd chuckled quietly under his breath. “A server at the pool bar for a summer. You know how to pick ‘em, man.”

Derek looked over at his so-called best friend. “I didn’t pick him. Whatever sick, sadistic higher being decides these things gave me this hyper, unfocused being who couldn’t sit without shaking his leg, or licking his lips, who wanted to go to Columbia University and become a writer.”

Boyd’s eyes widened. “Wait. Is that…is that why you ran to New York after Kate?”

Derek winced, but nodded. “I thought…” He blew out a puff of air. “The guy disappeared, and I thought maybe…but I scoured that campus for months, and nothing.”

“So you figured you’d tear apart Europe and what? Get yourself a nice criminal record to woo him with.”

Derek flushed again, but crossed his arms defensively. “I’m not making excuses for what I did, but it wasn’t…I was just…” He blew out a long breath of air and then shrugged helplessly. “There was too much in my head.”

“And then Jen,” Boyd said quietly.

“It was a mistake. It was a stupid fucking mistake, and I just want to get out of it. Does that seriously make me a monster?” There was an earnestness to his tone that was usually lacking, and Boyd’s face softened before he answered.

“No, Derek. It doesn’t.”

Derek smiled. “Thanks, man. I’m going to mingle and…I don’t know.” The breeze picked up, and Derek smelled it again. The familiarity tugged at him, pulling him away from Boyd, sending him into the crowd, almost mindless, ready to sate a craving he couldn’t name.

_ _ _ 

“Listen,” Stiles said, trying to extricate himself from the too-tight fingers of Peter Hale. The guy looked like the predator who was just offered Iced Tea by a fake teen on Dateline—a teen Stiles probably could have played because in spite of being in his mid-twenties, he was still carded every time he even breathed near the alcohol section. Peter had zeroed in on him, and Stiles recognized him from the hotel, though they’d never spoken before this. Peter was now six glasses of champagne down, and getting handsy. “Look, this is delicate merchandise…”

“Oh. You don’t have to tell me,” Peter said, his voice low. “Humans. Bruise like peaches.”

“Aren’t you married?” Stiles demanded.

Peter’s grin was a little feral. “Well, she’s in Sweden so…”

“Dude. Hoes in every area code? That is the lamest…” Stiles tried to take a step back, and Peter’s grip tightened. “Look man, I get that you’re my boss, but I’m pretty sure,” he grunted as he tugged back, to no avail, “that this is a definite case for sexual harassment if you don’t,” he tugged again, and Peter’s grin widened. Stiles swore he saw a hint of fang. “Let me…” He tugged hard. “Go!”

Then, Peter did.

Stiles shouted, dropping his tray, and he stumbled back. Right into the pool. Right into Mermaid Kira who shouted and jumped in, trying to keep Stiles from going under.

Then there was a second set of hands, much stronger. Stiles panicked for a second, thinking it was Peter. Then he panicked more as he wiped water out of his eyes and saw it wasn’t Peter at all, but Derek Hale.

_The_ Derek Hale.

Fuck.

Stiles was unceremoniously dragged to the edge of the pool, and Derek hopped out, dragging Stiles with him. His first coherent thought was how unfair it was that he looked like a drowned rat when Derek looked like some sort of Sea Nymph, erupting from the waves. His white linen pants were totally soaked through, showing off tight, white boxer briefs which showed everything.

Literally everything.

He didn’t seem to give a shit as he manhandled Stiles over to one of the cabanas. There were towels rubbing at him then, and someone babbling and Peter somewhere in the background laughing and making rude gestures.

“I’m fine,” Stiles said after a minute, shoving Derek’s hand away. “Seriously uh. I mean, thanks. But also I’m fine.”

Derek’s sea-colored eyes narrowed on him. “I…have we…met? I feel like I know you.” Stiles did not miss the way Derek sniffed near him.

“I. Uh. I’ve worked here for a while,” Stiles started, but Derek shook his head.

“No. It’s…your scent. I…”

“I gotta go. I gotta clean up and get back to serving before your mom fires my ass.” He broke away from Derek, and power-walked toward the hotel, not stopping until he was safely behind closed doors.

It was by some miracle alone that the rest of the night went off without a hitch. By the time he was changed into a fresh set of booty shorts and see-through tee, both Derek and Peter had disappeared. The crowd was over the commotion, and soon enough were being herded into the ball room for the rest of the party. It left Stiles at the mercy of Erica’s relentless mocking, but they managed to get everything clean and sorted out just by one.

Scott, per usual, had abandoned him as soon as Kira’s shift was over, but he was too exhausted to care. He slipped into sweats, trudged to his jeep, and made the long drive home.

“Yo, pops,” Stiles said as he threw his keys into the bowl by the door. His dad was on the couch watching sports highlights, and he gave Stiles a raised brow. “Long story, don’t ask.” His dad always seemed to know when something was amiss. “I’m gonna hit the sack though. I have to see the doctor in the morning, and then I’ve got an early shift.”

Noah frowned. “Everything okay, son?”

“Right as rain,” Stiles said, giving him a mock salute. “Usual stuff. Don’t worry. Never have to worry about me.”

“You’re a good kid, Stiles,” Noah said quietly, and Stiles grinned at him before escaping to his room.

His bed was too inviting, and the comforter was like a heavy weight keeping him in place, but he knew as soon as his eyes closed and the image of Derek appeared, it was going to be a long, long night.

_ _ _ 

“…with the peanuts. Yum. Just put the tiger on the shelf,” Stiles mumbled, almost completely asleep.

So it was no surprise that he missed the doctor saying, “Mr. Stilinski? I’m Dr. Hale, and I’ll be filling in for Dr. Pritchard today. Are you ready for your insemination?”

He came to only when the door slammed, and snorted himself awake, half siting up with his legs in the stirrups. “Yep, yes, present. Here. Ready. My…my body is ready.”

He peered over around his thigh and saw a gorgeous woman—slightly familiar in a way, something about the eyebrows, but he couldn’t place it. Whatever the case, she was not his regular doctor. She also looked…upset, maybe? Her eyes were puffed and her face drawn, but she was snapping on gloves, and he decided not to worry about it.

“Is it going to hurt?”

She looked at him. “No, not at all. You might feel some discomfort as it sets in, but nothing to worry about.”

“How long will it take to…” Stiles said, trailing off, feeling weirdly uncomfortable talking about it since he hadn’t even done it before.

“Two weeks, give or take. Sometimes three, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Alright, you’re going to feel my hand first, and then…”

All in all, it wasn’t the best experience he’d had at a doctor’s office, but it wasn’t the worst. It might have been better if he’d been given a purple lollipop at the end, but it was quick enough. He passed through the lobby, and felt a little woozy for a second when his feet hit the sidewalk outside, but it went away after a moment, and just then his phone began to ring.

He reached into his pocket and saw Danny’s name on the screen, and a little flutter of anticipation made his heart go wild. He cleared his throat and tried to calm himself when he answered. “Hey, you. I wasn’t sure you were going to call.”

_ _ _ 

“Sweetheart,” Talia began, but Derek shook his head.

“Can you please not try to talk me out of this. I’m not…this isn’t me trying to destroy what stability I have. This is me trying to figure out how to be happy.” 

Talia gave him a careful look from behind her large desk. “I want you to be happy. Derek, you’re important to me, and I know there’s been a lot in the way of me being present. Not just the hotel. And I know I’ve neglected you, I know how much of…of everything was my fault.”

“It wasn’t,” Derek said. “After…after my diagnosis,” he said, the weight of it still heavy to bear, “after I started seeing Marion, I realized that I can’t waste time on being miserable. And I know mates don’t always work out…” He saw the flinch on her face, and he knew then they were both thinking about his father, “but sometimes they do. And I feel like it’s only fair to try to find mine.”

Talia pursed her lips together, then sighed through her nose and nodded. “I understand. I do. Things are in a little bit of an upheaval right now, but we’ll figure it out. Just…hang on a little longer if you can.”

Derek bristled, but he figured he could pretend with Jennifer for a few more weeks. After all, she wasn’t ever around as it was, it’s not like anything would change. “Okay.”

“I’m having lunch with Laura today. She’s trying to get things worked out with her lawyer thanks to that slut…”

“Mom,” Derek said tiredly.

“As her mother, I have a right to disparage her cheating spouse,” Talia said primly. “Also I think something happened at work. She’s been damn near inconsolable, and you know how nothing ever shakes that girl.”

Derek frowned, worried a little now because it was true. Laura was the rock—the eventual Alpha of their pack and family, and if she had Talia worried, it had to be bad. “Is she here right now?” he asked.

“Waiting for me in the lounge,” Talia said with a wave of her hand. “Go and say hi before we head out.”

Derek nodded, then leaned in and kissed his mother’s cheek before heading out. He felt like a complete tool in clothes that were fit only for something like a yacht—something he could afford, but something that wasn’t him. Derek would have happily spent half his inheritance on charity if the board would let him get away with it, and as it was, he had about a baker’s dozen events planned to spend hotel money and raise more for the community.

He figured he’d ask Laura to help out, but when he caught a glimpse of her face as she sat there nursing some drink with a sprig of wolfsbane sticking out of it, he lost his train of thought, eclipsed by his worry. “Hey,” he said.

Her eyes darted up, and then her entire face flushed bright red. “No. Not you. No, Derek. I can’t…I can’t talk to you about this.”

Derek blinked. “Laura…what…”

“I love you so much,” she said, and shot out of her seat, grabbing him into a fierce bear hug. “What you survived, what you went through…and your child…”

Derek pulled back. “Laura, I don’t _have_ a child.”

“I know,” she said, then burst into tears. She was blubbering, but he couldn’t make out the words, and he managed to turn and signal Erica as he held her and rubbed her back.

“It’s okay, Laur. I promise. I’m not exactly ready for kids. Okay? I don’t want them.”

Her head snapped up, and she swiped at her runny nose. “Really?”

Derek shrugged. “I mean obviously I want…some day, you know, I’d like to think about it. But I’m not…” He swallowed thickly and glanced around, nervous that Jen would materialize out of thin air the moment he let slip the truth. “That’s not where I’m at right now. And it’s nothing to cry over.”

“You d-don’t,” she said, choking back a sob, “you don’t understand. Derek. I can’t with you. Not you.”

Derek pat her helplessly, and by some miracle, Talia arrived moments later and quickly spirited his sister away. Erica leaned against his chair, eyebrow lifted. “What the actual fuck?”

Derek dragged a hand down his face and sighed, reaching for her leftover drink. The wolfsbane burned, making him sneeze, but he appreciated the way it took the edge off. “Her wife cheated on her. Laura caught her in bed with the dog walker or something.”

Erica snorted. “Seriously? She has a dog-walker?”

“Maybe it was her yoga instructor?” Derek offered, not even sure Laura had a dog. “Anyway, I don’t know what the hell all of that was about, but my mom will fix it.”

Erica shrugged. “You need anything? Oh, and I saw Jennifer earlier. She said to tell you reservations were at six in the Gold Room.”

Derek scowled. “Great.”

“Don’t sound thrilled or anything, she’s only your wife,” Erica pointed out.

“For now,” Derek muttered before he could stop himself. He quickly pushed the drink away from him before it made things worse. “I’m going to walk the grounds and uh…take stock of some stuff. Call me if you need anything.”

Erica laughed. “Sure thing, boss. You go take stock of all that stuff. I’ll have some coffee sent up to your office when you’re ready for it.”

“I’ve told you I love you before, haven’t I?” Derek asked, unable to help his grateful smile.

She winked at him. “I could stand to hear it more. Go get your head clear, I’ll see you later.”

Derek nodded, and stepped outside. Just as the patio doors swung shut, the breeze picked up and he smelled it again. Whatever it was, it was stronger, more enticing. He curled his hands into fists and fought the urge to follow it as claws pricked his skin. He was done giving into instinct, done letting things be decided for him.

Whatever that smell was, whatever was trying to fuck with him, he wasn’t going to have it. Enough was enough.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New update. It helps that I'm addicted to writing this and enjoying the last month of summer before autumn term starts and University sucks my soul from my body. This story should be well over before then.
> 
> This story has been american-picked and beta-read, but any remaining typos are my own. (I've been speaking it since I was very little, but english is not my first language so sorry if it sounds off sometimes). I lived in California during University for a little while, though, so hopefully it sounds somewhat legit.
> 
> Warnings: this chapter contains frank considerations of abortion

Stiles pressed a cool water bottle to the back of his neck as he flopped onto a lounger. Scott gave him a dirty look as he bent over at the waist, replacing the torn, frayed pool menus with fresh ones. “So…you’re just here to supervise?”

“I’m working on my management skills,” Stiles said, waving a hand at him. The truth was, he felt like shit. He felt hung over, which wasn’t possible since he hadn’t gone out drinking. Though from the events the night before, he was starting to wonder if maybe someone had replaced his water with flavorless vodka or something.

Danny had finally gotten back from Oahu and had called to ask Stiles out. Stiles readily and hurriedly accepted the invite, ignoring a sort of rolling wave of discomfort in his gut he attributed to nerves. They headed out to Vicenti’s because Stiles could never say no to their carbonara, but the moment the smell of bacon hit his nostrils, it was all he could do to keep from losing what little he had left in his stomach.

He managed to keep it together, and chalk it up to nerves, except they got back to Danny’s place, and Danny had his hands all over Stiles and then…

“I barfed on Danny last night.”

Scott promptly dropped all the menus he was holding, and didn’t seem to notice as he fixed Stiles with a horrified stare. “You. What.”

Stiles’ face was bright red from the memory alone—from Danny looking thoroughly disgusted but trying to calm a flailing, panicking Stiles down from the world’s largest anxiety attack. And he was nice about it when he drove Stiles home, and even pecked him on the cheek.

He’d even texted that morning to make sure he was feeling okay because Danny—whatever else he was—was a good guy. Just, Stiles wasn’t sure he could ever be sexy again after that.

“Were you drinking?” Scott asked.

Stiles shook his head and covered his face with one hand. “No, dude. Nothing. And I felt okay this morning, only after I got here, it started up again.” He pressed the water bottle to his sternum and sighed. “I think I’m coming down sick, but that’s entirely not the point.”

“Okay,” Scott said slowly.

Stiles sat up, a little too fast, and his head swam. But he kept his grip on the lounger and narrowed his eyes at his best friend. “I puked. On the only guy who seemed to want to sex me up pretty much ever. So now I’m going to die a virgin. A lonely, cat-owning, beardy virgin.”

“You can’t grow a beard,” Scott pointed out helpfully.

“Fuck you very much for pointing that out, Scotty,” Stiles snapped. “This is a serious crisis, alright? I mean, I had just gotten the judgy little mom voice to shut the hell up so maybe I could get my dick wet for the first time and then…what? My body betrays me? I fed it like four whole vegetables this week, and this is how it repays me?!”

Scott snorted. “Dude, first of all, you could have had sex. You just chose not to. That was your thing, man.”

“Yeah, but…” Stiles let out a puff of air and pushed himself to stand. “I mean, I figured I’d have met the one by now. It was a choice for love, not for eternal chastity. I just…I wanted to make my mom proud.”

“Stiles, your mom loved you. She still does, wherever she’s at. I don’t think in the grand scheme of things, she actually cares. She just wanted you to be happy.”

Stiles stared at the menus near his feet. “Yeah. Yeah I…”

He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence, because a furious voice cut in. “What the hell is going on here?”

Stiles looked up to see a woman with brown hair pulled into a severe knot marching toward them. It took him a minute to realize who she was—important, part of the Hale family, and married to Derek which made Stiles feel like he was swallowing past a boulder.

“Uh,” he said. Eloquent.

“Am I paying you to sit around while guests are waiting for the pool?” she demanded through clenched teeth.

“I mean, technically _you_ aren’t paying us anything,” Stiles pointed out, because his mouth was a dirty fucking traitor. “And I saw the hotel capacity sheet this morning. We’re at four percent. There's no one actually here to wait for the pool.”

Her face went pink, and her hands uncurled from fists and reached up like she wanted to strangle him. ‘”Listen here you little…”

He missed the rest, because his stomach suddenly lurched and released the contents of itself. All over her nice pumps.

Stiles lifted his head, horrified, opened his mouth to apologize, but the corners of his vision suddenly went white. And then there was nothing.

_ _ _ 

He knew him. Derek knew him now. The man they were carting off on a stretcher amidst Jen’s incessant screeching over her shoes, and Talia’s panicked phone calls about potential lawsuits, was familiar to Derek because he was the guy from the lounge. And it was five years ago, and Derek had been a little drunk on wolfsbane and a little drunk on the scent of his mate, but that didn’t matter.

The night of the party, Derek hadn’t recognized him. Due to stress, maybe, or fear, but it was clear now. And the panic was setting in because that was his _mate_ , and he was lying prone on a stretcher, being loaded into an ambulance, and was only now regaining consciousness.

“I should go with him,” Derek heard himself say.

That shut Jen up almost instantly, and she rounded on him, eyes narrowed and face pink with fury. “You _what,_ ” she all-but shouted.

Derek shrugged helplessly. “You relentlessly harassed my employee into a faint, Jennifer. I should probably go ensure he’s okay.”

“No,” Talia said. “Risk management is going to handle this.” She fixed Jennifer with a careful look, and her tone was even but Alpha-dangerous when she said, “You should excuse yourself and clean up while I handle the rest of this…mess.”

At that, Jennifer paled and turned on her heel, marching back into the hotel. When she was out of earshot, Derek turned to his mother. “I…he’s…”

Talia gave him a pleading look. “Derek, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but now is not the time. I have your sister’s work crisis and divorce to contend with, and whatever this is…” she waved her hand at the ambulance that was pulling away.

“Fine,” Derek said with a small sigh. “Fine. Just…” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’m going to work in the office for a few hours. Keep me posted.”

Talia nodded, and he didn’t look back at her as he walked away.

Derek found himself sitting on the veranda staring off into the preserve, attempting to collect his thoughts. His mother knew—or at the very least, she was aware that Derek’s concern was personal. Now that he had some space from it all, he was grateful she’d put a stop to his words. He wasn’t ready to discuss this—not married to Jennifer, not in the middle of a changing of the guard, so to speak. He had a lot to focus on, and trying to fit his possible mate into his life was more than he could take on.

Derek sighed, dragging a hand down his face, and he was prepared for when Boyd sat down next to him.

“Your mother wanted me to check on you.”

Derek rolled his eyes over toward his friend. “To ensure I’m not a danger to myself or others?”

“I think,” Boyd said quietly, “she thought maybe you could use a friend right now?” He sounded more hesitant than usual, and at Derek’s silence, he went on. “That was him, wasn’t it? From the party, from the day at the golf course?”

Derek swallowed thickly, and knew he couldn’t lie to his friend. “Yes. Yeah. That was him.”

“And were you right five years ago?”

“I don’t know,” Derek admitted. He smelled the same. Stiles. _Just call me Stiles_ , the guy had said to him, and Derek had mocked his name a little, then talked to him for hours. He couldn’t resist kissing him, couldn’t resist feeling Stiles’ pulse rabbiting against the palm of his hand as he cupped his neck. But Derek was still reeling from Paige’s death—even if she hadn’t been his mate, he had loved her. So Derek had panicked, and never called the number Stiles had quietly passed him, and then Kate happened and…

“Does he know?” Boyd asked.

Derek breathed out hard through his nose. “No. No, I don’t think so. I think he thinks I’m some rich asshole who took advantage of serving staff to get his rocks off. He told me to call him, and I never did,” Derek clarified.

Boyd huffed a small laugh. “That’s pretty fucked, man.”

Derek laughed with him, the sound almost bitter, tinged with guilt—something he was very familiar with. “I didn’t know he was here. I didn’t know he was still working here. Jesus. Has he been here this whole time?”

“Off and on, according to Erica. They’re friends, by the way. Her and Stiles. She said he worked here during summers and between semesters. His dad got sick sometime back so he left grad school and he’s been trying to pay off some medical bills.”

Derek’s insides twisted with the knowledge that his mate has been suffering, that a person he was built to love, who was built to love him, was struggling for things that came too readily and too easily for Derek. With things Derek had never had to worry about, ever in his life. How was this possible?

“What are you going to do?” Boyd prodded.

Derek shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t…shit, man, I don’t think I can deal with this right now. I haven’t talked to Jen yet. My mom begged me to put the divorce off until she fixes whatever the fuck is wrong with Laura. She doesn’t have the energy for two divorces and for me to take over the hotel and deal with the board.”

Boyd nodded. “I get it. But you can’t just ignore it. And I mean…he works here. Isn’t that going to be rough?”

Derek snorted a laugh. “I don’t even know. I mean, I’ve been back for a while and I didn’t even know he was here so…I guess it won’t be too awful.”

“Except now you know,” Boyd pointed out.

“Yeah. Now I know. Fuck.”

Boyd laughed again and clapped him on the knee. “I feel like if there’s any occasion to get shit-faced, now is that time. Come on, I’ll buy you a drink.”

Derek let his friend haul him to his feet, and though he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about Stiles, and worrying something was truly wrong, the least he could do was take the edge off.

_ _ _ 

Stiles grimaced at the sour taste in his mouth, and was desperate for water, but the nurses were refusing to let him have anything in case he needed a surgery.

“It’s a stomach bug,” he complained at Melissa when she came back with his test results. “Seriously, I don’t need a surgery, I’m not dying. It was probably that taco truck Scott and I hit up a few nights ago.”

The worried look on her face, only for a second, melted into annoyance. “Seriously, you two? You didn’t learn your lesson with diarrhea fest two-thousand fourteen?”

Stiles shuddered. “Yeah well, what can we say. We’re wild.”

She rolled her eyes, but the exasperation melted back into worry as she stared at whatever was on that little chart. Nerves started to well up in him, and Stiles clutched at the sheets and stared at the little MD on her badge. He remembered the day she’d gone back to school. Remembered how hard he and Scott had shouted during her graduation.

He remembered every moment she had stood in as mom for him when he needed her most. When he was scared, when he was lonely, when he missed his mom so bad it felt like his bones were cracking apart under his skin. 

He did not like the look on her face.

“Give it to me straight, doc.”

She licked her lips, then turned because Noah was rushing through the room and made it through the curtains just before she shut them.

“Sorry, son. I got held up by a traffic accident, and then…”

“It’s fine,” Stiles said. “She was just getting ready to tell me how fine I am. Right?” he pressed.

She pursed her lips, then said, “How long have you been sexually active?”

Stiles blinked at her. “What? Dude, no. No I’m not…oh my god. Is it an STD? I knew I shouldn’t have used the toilet at that stupid concert. Someone fucked on the seat and it got in through my ass-skin, didn’t it? Oh god, they're going to have to cut my dick off and I'm going to have to…”

“You’re pregnant, Stiles,” she said, interrupting his flow of words.

Stiles glanced at his dad, who glanced back at him, and then they both burst into laughter. Stiles wiped at his eyes, his fingers still shaking from nerves. “Cute. Thanks, Mel. Seriously, I forgot how scary you could be with that doctor humor…”

“Stiles,” she said, and her tone made the entire room fall dead silent. “I’m not joking. You’re pregnant. Your hormone levels…” She swallowed.

Stiles crossed his arms. “No. See, no, that’s not possible because I haven’t had sex. I’m a virgin. You know this. Dad…dad, you know this. I haven’t even…” He sat up, flailing a little. “The last date I had—which was last night, by the way, and the first date I’ve had in like four months, got puked on because I…” His voice went quiet then, because from what he did remember about his mother, he remembered her bemoaning how sick he’d made her at the beginning. “I had bad tacos,” he finished softly.

Melissa looked at him carefully. “Stiles, I don’t know what to tell you. A false positive is almost impossible. I mean, there are reasons. Testicular cancer can cause a false positive sometimes, but it’s not…”

“Oh my god, I have cancer?” Stiles screeched.

“The rest of your results would indicate that no, you don’t have cancer,” she told him. “We’ll retest again, but I don’t…”

“It isn’t possible,” Stiles said through clenched teeth.

Melissa gave him a careful look, then said, “Scott told me you went in to the clinic for a birth control shot.”

Stiles’ entire face flamed burning hot, and he looked at his dad. “It was a precaution! Danny was coming back from Hawaii and I just…I was…I had this thought that…but we didn’t! I only saw him last night, and we didn’t do anything because I vomited all over him.”

Noah sighed, then put his hand on Stiles’ shaking leg. “If he says he hasn’t had sex, then he hasn’t had sex. Trust me, Stiles may be a lot of things, but he doesn’t lie. Not about stuff like this.”

Melissa looked worried, but nodded. “I know that. But whatever the case, you’re still pregnant.” She bit her lip, then reached into the drawer by the bed and pulled out a cup. “Go give me a urine sample, and I’m going to call the clinic where you got your shot.”

“Shot?” Stiles said with a frown. “No. No, I didn’t get a shot. She just pushed some goop up my uh…” he blushed. “And then told me I’d be good in about two weeks.”

Melissa frowned at him. “That’s not…” She trailed off and blew out a puff of air. “Who did you see, Stiles?”

“I don’t know. I was supposed to see my regular doctor, but it was some woman. Dark hair, looked kind of upset, scary eyebrows. But hot.”

Noah rolled his eyes. “Not helpful.”

“They’ll have him on file though,” Melissa said. “Go on, scoot. Fill that up, and we’ll get a second test going.”

Stiles scrambled to obey, and did his best not to piss all over and aim right for the cup, which was more difficult with shaking hands. He couldn’t be pregnant. That wasn’t possible because well, he actually had paid attention in sex ed, okay? And the only way to prevent pregnancy one hundred percent was abstinence and Stiles had been doing that. He’d been following the rules, god damn it. Just like he promised his mother, and himself.

He’d been waiting. For the right one. So things like this wouldn’t happen.

He didn’t realize he was having a panic attack until Melissa was pressing a cool cloth to the back of his neck, and he realized he was on the bathroom floor.

“Gross,” he croaked out, pushing to his feet.

“It’s cleaner than your house, trust me,” she said dryly.

Stiles sniffed and took the rag to wipe his face. “Did I spill the sample?”

“No,” she said, and had it capped and in her hand. “I have the clinic on the line, and they’re going to hold while I get the results. It looks like you saw Dr. Laura Hale that day. Does that sound familiar to you.”

Stiles tripped just before he reached the bed, but his dad caught his arm and helped him up. “Hale?” he asked, his voice high and tight. “Hale like…Derek Hale? Like Talia Hale?”

Melissa frowned. “I’m not sure, but it’s possible. It looks like she was seeing patients for Dr. Pritchard that day.”

Stiles scrubbed a hand down his face while Melissa stuck a white strip of something into his container of pee. “I…” The problem was, he had been so damn tired that day, he didn’t remember much besides the quick little goop she’d given him, and then the phone call from Danny. “I guess that sounds right. I was really tired. I think I was asleep on the exam table before she came in.”

Melissa and Noah both frowned. “Well,” Noah said, “we’ll figure it out.”

Stiles’ stomach began to twist with a realization that this was not a dream. Not a nightmare. That somehow in spite of everything he’d done, he might actually be pregnant. “What’s it say?” he demanded.

Melissa swallowed thickly, then turned to him with the strip tinged blue. “I’m sorry, Stiles, but you’re pregnant. We’ll get you in to an OB to do an ultrasound and more bloodwork, but…”

Stiles looked at his dad, and then his face erupted into white-hot tingles. “Fuck,” was the last thing he remembered saying.

_ _ _ 

His foot tapped a staccato rhythm as he stared at the mahogany desk in front of him. Stiles’ hands were sweating, and even though he knew it wasn’t possible at this stage of the pregnancy—fuck, the _pregnancy_ \--he swore he could feel the thing inside of him all latched on to his body and sucking out his vitamins and nutrients like a little vitamin and nutrient vampire. He fought the urge to press his hand over his still-flat stomach.

The doctor was late, but then again Stiles didn’t exactly blame her considering she was going to be facing him, his father—the sheriff—and their lawyer since Noah insisted they not talk to a single person in that office without an attorney present. Stiles didn’t know how the hell his dad afforded the retainer, and he suspected both savings account and help from Melissa, which made him feel worse.

He was battling down surges of guilt, even if there was no fucking way this could possibly be his fault. Except the fact that he’d fallen asleep on the table so when Dr. Hale said insemination, he hadn’t heard that part. But it was also her damn job to know which patient was getting what.

The door opened, and Stiles jumped in his seat. He turned to look at her—and she was exactly the way he remembered—gorgeous, scary brows, and he could see the resemblance to Derek now in the jawline and the frowning mouth. She looked a lot less like she’d been crying, and a part of him wondered what the hell had happened that made her fuck up so badly.

“Mr. Stilinski,” she said, coming around the desk to sit. Stiles was surprised she didn’t have her own representation there considering. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

No one said anything, and her cheeks went a little pink. She cleared her throat, and picked up Stiles’ medical file, opening it and drawing out papers from the tests the ER had performed.

“So. You’re pregnant.”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, a slight drawl to his tone. “About that…”

“I’m not going to fight you on this,” she said quickly. “I’m taking full responsibility, and accepting whatever consequences that come with it.”

“I just want to know how the hell this happened,” Noah barked. “My son came in here—my virgin son,” he hissed.

“Dad,” Stiles groaned as Laura went pale.

She swallowed so loud Stiles could hear a click in her throat. “I was…compromised.”

“Drugs? Alcohol?” Noah demanded.

She looked between Stiles and his dad. “I…no.” She cleared her throat, then sighed. “I found my wife in bed with another woman the night before. I shouldn’t have…there’s no excuse for what I did, Mr. Stilinski, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am for my unprofessionalism.”

Stiles felt a wave of sympathy for her, but it lasted only a minute in the face of what he was dealing with now. A pregnancy. Which meant he was facing a choice he never, ever thought he was going to have to face.

“…to do with the pregnancy, and you can bet your ass your clinic is taking care of it,” Noah was saying as Stiles came back to himself. “I don’t care if you don’t perform those…types of procedures here, my son deserves to make this choice himself.”

“Of course,” she said, and there was something in her voice that sounded…almost invested. He didn’t think it was the idea of abortion. It almost sounded personal. “I’ll assist in any way I can.”

“Thank you,” Stiles said, feeling a little numb about the whole thing. There was a pointed silence, then Stiles said, “Who’s the other father?”

The lawyer—Stiles hadn’t bothered to remember the guy’s name, coughed. “You can’t ask her that. It’s patient confidentiality. I assume the donor sperm was a patient of yours banking here?”

Laura looked _devastated_. “I…yes. He. He was, yes. The mix-up occurred when his wife came in for the insemination.”

“Oh fucking fuckstick,” Stiles groaned. “So I get knocked up with the baby this couple was trying to have. Jesus Christ.”

“Stiles, that does not need to influence your decision to terminate,” Noah said quickly. “You weren’t implanted with someone’s viable embryo. You were inseminated with sperm.”

Stiles stared at Dr. Hale hard. He understood why she looked mortified, but it just seemed deeper. “Is there anything you can give me at all about this person?”

“I…” She hesitated, then shook her head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Stiles sank back into his chair. “There’s a pill, right? Like the morning after, only like, the three week after pill. That I can take. It’s only three weeks along so there’s like…not even heartbeat.”

“I can get the prescription for you,” she said, then quickly amended, “one of our other providers will give it to you.”

Stiles nodded, still feeling numb. “Thanks,” he said softly. When his dad reached over to grip his arm, he felt no comfort at all.

_ _ _ 

“We need to talk.”

Derek blinked up at his mother, who was hovering in the doorway to his office. If the situation had been different, if Laura hadn’t been going through whatever crisis, and if Derek’s reputation wasn’t threatening to sink him before he even got started, Talia would be well on her way to some Mexican Rivera cruise to forget all about her shithead of a mate, and the years of stress laid on her shoulders by the Triskelion.

But as much as Derek wished he could fast forward to a time when he was running the hotel, and didn’t have his mother—or the rest of the board—looking over his shoulder, he understood.

“Can it wait? I need to…”

“It can’t,” Talia said, and her eyes flashed red for a second.

Derek felt the jolt in his sternum, the call of the Alpha, and he rose without really meaning to.

“You need to bring Jen along with you. This concerns her as well. Meet me in my office in ten.” She turned on her heel, and Derek could hear the rapid clicks of her pumps as she disappeared around the corner, heading for the elevator.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Derek took several calming breaths before reaching for his phone and dialing Jen instead of going on a hunt for her.

“Hello my love,” she said softly.

Derek felt himself bristle at the endearment. “We need to meet my mother in her office in ten minutes.”

“I’m right in the middle of…”

“I don’t care,” he interrupted. “It’s business. Whatever you’re doing isn’t as important as this.”

Jen sighed. “Alright. I’ll be up in a few.”

Derek ended the call without a goodbye, then took five full minutes to compose himself. By the time he reached Talia’s office, he could see the perfect swirl of Jen’s bun poking over the chair, but he was more startled to see Laura there also. 

His sister looked terrible. Face splotchy from crying, bags under her eyes like she hadn’t been sleeping. He had to figure it was the divorce, but it didn’t sit right with him considering Laura loved, but she didn’t give her all to anyone, not even her family. Not even her alpha. Her wife—well, ex now—wasn’t her mate. She’d been very adamant about not bothering with the mate business. Still, something obviously had his sister shaken, and it was making Derek a little nervous.

As was the presence of a strange woman he’d never met before. She was human, but smelled like wolf, and she was dressed in pristine, business casual, but just above the collar of her blouse, he could make out very distinct claw marks. Her gaze was sharp, fixed on Laura until Derek walked in, and he felt he was being mentally picked apart, his weaknesses found and categorized.

He cleared his throat, then nodded to his mother and took the empty seat beside Jen.

A moment passed before Talia spoke, and when she did, her voice was heavy with authority. “We have something important to discuss, and I’m not going to tell you how to handle it,” she said carefully, “but I want you to stop and consider the circumstances before you react.”

Derek couldn’t help but look over at Jen, and then at Laura. No one said a word.

Talia sighed and folded her hands on the desk. “Normally I wouldn’t involve myself in Laura’s practice. As her Alpha, I have the right, but her work is her own. Unfortunately it concerns the two of you.”

Derek smelled anxiety, and he turned to see Jen’s face flushed bright red. Fear prickled up his spine, and he felt his claws itching to come out. He controlled them by gripping the arms of the chair, but he was on full alert now. “What is it?”

“Jennifer, if you’d care to explain,” Talia began.

Jennifer looked petrified, but knew she couldn’t deny Talia’s demand. “I’m not entirely sure what this is about,” the coldness of her tone belying the fear in her scent, “I can only guess that your sister and mother,” she spat the words, “feel as though I’ve deceived you.”

Derek blinked. “What?”

“She came into my office to get your sample,” Laura said. It was no secret Laura detested Jennifer, but there was something more than anger in her tone. All the same, the news hit Derek like a ton of bricks.

“You what?” he said, his voice almost a whisper.

Jennifer kept her head high, nose in the air. “It’s my right as your wife,” she said pointedly. “You haven’t looked at me in weeks, Derek. I just…I wanted…” Her voice trembled. “I want us to start a family, and you’ve been so busy with the hotel…”

“You got my…without my consent,” he all-but roared. He realized he was halfway to his seat, and sank back down when his mother gave him a warning growl. “You’re pregnant,” he said flatly.

“It’s been three weeks, but the tests have all come back negative,” Jen said.

Derek swallowed thickly. “We were told…Laura told us that you needed fertility treatments to ensure…we were going to…” His voice betrayed him. Kids had not been the end-all, be-all of his future, but he’d wanted them. When his disease had taken that away, he had done everything he could to ensure it would be a possibility. Not with her. Not with Jennifer, but with his mate, maybe… and now… He let out a shaking breath. “All of it?”

“She told me you told her to use the full sample,” Laura said, her voice more meek than it ever had been.

“And you didn’t stop to wonder why I hadn’t come with her?” Derek demanded. His claws were out now, shredding the leather of the chair.

Laura flushed. “I had just…it was the night after she left and…”

“That is no excuse,” Talia said, holding up a hand. “Unfortunately, there’s more.”

Derek was still reeling from the news that his entire sample had been wasted, and any chance of his own child now was gone. “How is there more?” he asked flatly.

Talia gave Laura a pointed look, who turned even more red, and spoke as she stared at her feet. “There was a mix-up at the clinic.” The room went so silent then, Derek could hear movement from across the preserve, miles away. Laura was silent a long while before she went on. “Your sample was…given to someone else.”

Derek and Jennifer turned to Laura at the same time, though while Derek couldn’t seem to make his voice work, Jen managed a quiet, “What?”

Laura cleared her throat. “The day Jennifer came in for her insemination appointment, I had another patient in for a birth control injection. I…mixed up the two, and that patient is now confirmed pregnant with your child.”

Derek and Jennifer both flew to their feet. Jennifer immediately went for Laura, her voice loud through the room. “How dare you, you incompetent little…”

Derek lost control over his wolf, and grabbed Jennifer by the collar. His roar was deafening as he shoved her back into the chair, and she cowered until Talia was right in Derek’s face, her eyes flaring bright red.

“Enough,” she said through fangs.

Derek felt his own fangs and claws easing back into his body, and he realized then his hands were shaking. “I…who is it?” he managed, turning a pleading look on Laura.

“I can’t tell you,” Laura said. Her eyes flickered to the other woman in the room who hadn’t moved an inch the entire time. “Derek, I would but…I can’t.”

Derek felt his eyes get hot, and he breathed through the overwhelming emotions. “This person, are they going to keep the baby or…”

“They don’t know. I gave them a prescription to terminate it, because I can’t…I couldn’t ask him—them—” she corrected a little too late, “to keep it. Not after everything I’d done.”

“How long ago?” Derek couldn’t stop himself from asking.

Laura’s voice was thick and hoarse when she answered him. “Two days.”

Derek closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. “That was my only sample. I can’t…that’s it for me, Laur.”

“If she isn’t already going to lose her license,” the woman said, finally speaking up, “that would do it. She can’t tell you.”

“Stiles Stilinski,” Laura blurted, and then turned an immediate, apologetic look toward the woman. “I’m sorry, but my license isn’t worth him not getting the chance to talk to him.”

Derek barely heard her, though. His head was filled with a buzzing noise, because he’d just been told that not only had his sample had been used, and that it had helped conceive a child, but the person bearing was his mate.

Derek looked at everyone in that room, aware of every pair of eyes on him. He took a breath, opened his mouth, then suddenly fled, leaving them all behind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to update this today, and then another update maybe later tonight or tomorrow, but after that my weekend is going to be pretty busy so there might not be another update until Monday. I have some written ahead, not heaps, but I do plan to post as I get stuff back from my beta, so with any luck this fic will be finished in the next week or so.
> 
> This chapter is the longest yet, so hopefully this and the next make up for the lack of updates over the weekend.
> 
> Warnings: the start of the chapter continues discussion/consideration of abortion, and issues of infertility, and a brief panic attack, but not in graphic detail

The cool darkness created by the wet cloth pressed over his eyes was the only thing coming close to soothing Stiles’ headache. It had been exactly forty-eight hours since he sat across from Laura Hale and was informed that he was indeed pregnant, and it had been her fault.

He had no idea who the donor was, only that said donor had been trying to get pregnant with their spouse and Stiles had…well. Been at the wrong place at the wrong time. And it wasn’t like Stiles didn’t have sympathy for Laura’s situation. Hell, he couldn’t begin to predict how he’d feel if he’d caught the love of his life in bed with someone else.

But he was fairly sure he wouldn’t have come into the office to perform delicate medical procedures, and it was that which kept him from feeling too bad for the doctor. Though their attorney assured Stiles that Laura would be facing severe consequences—including losing her license, and that if Stiles wanted to pursue it, he could win enough money to set himself and his child up for life.

Should he choose to keep it.

That was his other dilemma. He had a small, foil packet of pills he was meant to take—he didn’t exactly have a long deadline either—which gave him a seventy percent chance of terminating the pregnancy. Not only was it not a guarantee, but it could go terribly wrong.

And Stiles couldn’t help but think of that couple who wanted the baby. The couple who had, for whatever reason, needed Dr. Hale’s help in getting pregnant. Stiles was an unintended recipient of said sperm and subsequent embryo, but at least somewhere in the world, the baby might not be unwanted

He just had to come to terms with the fact that biologically, the baby was also half his.

“Hey, kiddo.”

Stiles dragged the cloth away from his face and squinted at his dad who was leaning over to deposit a mug of chamomile tea on the table beside him. He sighed, pushing himself up to sit, and his stomach gave a vicious roll. “This sucks.”

Noah snorted. “You’re telling me. I was pretty sure I’d never be having this conversation with you, Stiles.”

Stiles’ face flushed bright hot. “This isn’t my fault! I did everything right! And it’s…I shouldn’t have to be ashamed just because I was trying to be careful.” His voice began to tremble, and he wanted to blame it all on hormones, but he wasn’t sure he could. “Am I being punished for considering…for thinking about…do you think mom would…”

“No,” Noah said firmly, reaching out to grasp Stiles by his shoulders. His face was drawn and serious. “Look, you were too young to really understand what your mom wanted for you, and I didn’t…you just had your mind made up so young that I didn’t think telling you was necessary.”

Stiles blinked at him. “Telling me what?”

“Your mom…back in college.” His eyes flickered away, and Stiles’ stomach sank because he didn’t think he was going to like where this was going. “She was pressured into doing things she didn’t want to do with the guy she was dating before we met. It made her feel…a lot of things, and none of them good. She just wanted to make sure you never went through what she did. It wasn’t about shaming people who have sex, Stiles, or with people who make that choice. She just wanted you to be able to choose.”

Stiles pursed his lips and fought back a tight heat forming in his throat. His gaze flickered to the little packet of medication on the bedside table. “I wish she was here right now. She’d know what to do.”

“I know,” Noah said from behind a sigh.

Stiles reached out and poked at the rounded edge of the medication, then crossed his arms tight in front of him. “I know I should. I’m a grad school drop out working as a waiter and living with my father. I’m not exactly in the position to be a parent, you know.”

Noah gave him a half-amused look. “Son, when your mom and I had you, I was working as a bar-back for Finnegans and she was an overnight cashier at Beacon Grocer. We lived in a studio apartment, and when she found out she was pregnant, her mother told her there were options, and then hung up on her. But we made it work. You were a year and a half when I got into the academy, and she took night classes—even took you to a few of them when Mrs. Murphy was too sick to watch you. And it didn’t turn out exactly like we thought, but we made it work.”

Stiles let out a slightly wet laugh. “Yeah well, that’s not exactly my situation, pops. I’m knocked up with some anonymous donor who actually wanted this baby. And whether or not I could make it work…” He trailed off, glancing away. “I want whatever kid I have to come into this world chosen.”

“They will be, if you choose it,” Noah said gently.

Stiles scrubbed a hand down his face, then pressed his palm to his stomach. “If I want to offer the baby to the donor parents, do you think the lawyer would be able to get them a message? I don’t…I don’t think I can take those pills. Not without knowing at least.”

“You’re a good person, Stiles. You know that?”

Stiles swallowed thickly. “I’m not sure uh…I’m not so sure of that, dad. But thanks.”

Noah leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. “I’ll go make some calls. You rest, and let me know if there’s anything you need.”

Stiles nodded, then flopped back to his pillow, covered his eyes, and tried to forget his problems.

_ _ _ 

It was before dawn, but long past midnight by the time Derek trudged into the suite. He was unsurprised to find Jen there, curled up in a sheer robe, her face splotchy from crying. She was on her feet as he shrugged out of his jacket, but when he glared at her, her steps faltered.

“Can we please talk about this?” she begged.

Derek gave her a flat look. “About what? About how you went behind my back? About how you stole from me? How you didn’t consult me? For what, Jennifer?” He pulled a hand down his face and sank into one of the chairs.

“I wanted this for us,” she said quietly.

He pulled his hand away and gave her an incredulous look. “Why?”

She looked offended, taking a step back. “Because I love you, Derek. You’re my husband, and I thought…I always assumed,” she corrected, “that we’d start a family eventually. Thanks to our situation, I was never going to get to surprise you with that positive pregnancy stick, and this seemed like the closest I could get to that.”

“And thanks to your stupidity, you never will,” Derek all-but growled at her. The sound died out after a second, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. The truth was, he didn’t care all that much. He hadn’t wanted this with her at all. He was still reeling from finding out that Stiles wasn’t just a carrier, but also had been impregnated by his sample. And then Laura had given him the drugs to terminate the pregnancy and it’s not like Derek would have tried to stop him. Hell, he couldn’t ask anyone to do this for him. That wasn’t fair, and Stiles had been put into this situation without his consent.

Just like Derek had been.

But it was cruel, cruel irony that the only person Derek would have wanted this child with was choosing not to.

He looked back at Jennifer and he couldn’t stop his words. “I want a divorce.”

She looked like he’d slapped her across the face, but he heard the uptick in her heart and it became very clear. 

“You knew,” he said. “You knew I wanted…that’s why you did this.”

Her face went pink, but instead of answering him, she turned on her heel and stormed out. The bedroom door slammed, and his werewolf hearing picked up the quiet snick of the lock sliding into place. It was just as well, he wouldn’t have gone to bed with her anyway. He felt overwhelmed by the situation, drowning in the what-ifs.

Knowing that his mate was out there right now, pregnant with his child, was causing feral desires to rise to the surface. A need to protect, and provide, and comfort. He couldn’t though. He had no rights to Stiles. And even if he had explained the situation, he knew how Stiles must have felt about him—after what he’d done. He knew his therapist and his mother both would tell him it wasn’t his fault. He was traumatized, scared, and manipulated by Kate. He wouldn’t have been any good to Stiles in that condition. But all the same, he’d done the unthinkable. 

He’d seduced him, given in to the moment with his mate, created a connection, and then ghosted.

He deserved no less than this.

_ _ _ 

Aaron Henderson, the lawyer Melissa and Noah had hired for Stiles, had a small file folder on his desk. Stiles’ heart was racing in his chest, and his stomach was twisting with both nerves and morning sickness. His hands shook, but he kept them curled into fists as he waited.

“I was able to get in contact with the woman who was the intended uterus for the insemination,” Henderson began slowly. “She seemed receptive to your offer.”

Stiles blinked at him. “Oh. I…okay.”

“We only spoke once this morning, but she seemed very eager to discuss things further. Before we do that, we need to outline compensation, and how this might affect the civil suit against Dr. Hale, considering the circumstances.”

Stiles frowned. “Wait. What? Why? I mean, me keeping the pregnancy and giving it up to the intended parents shouldn’t have a negative effect on the suit. And I’m not even sure I want to pursue one.”

Henderson looked annoyed, which was probably due to a big pay-out being snatched from his grasp. He hesitated, then said, “The intended recipients of the insemination are Mr. and Mrs. Hale.”

Stiles froze in his seat. “Dr. Hale’s parents?”

Henderson shook his head. “Dr. Hale’s brother. Derek and Jennifer Hale.”

The lawyer’s mouth kept moving, but all Stiles could hear was a ringing in his ears. His face felt hot and prickly, and he realized his breathing was labored. It wasn’t until he felt his dad’s heavy, warm palm against the back of his neck that he was able to regain some control, but it took several long moments before the attack let up.

“Sorry,” he said, his voice scratchy.

“My apologies, I didn’t realize the information would have such a profound effect.” Henderson’s words were apologetic, but his tone was annoyed, and Stiles fought the irrational urge to just stand up and fire him.

That was eclipsed though, as the reality of the situation sank in. He was pregnant with Derek Hale’s child. Derek Hale.

The universe truly was a cruel, cruel bitch.

“I need to…I need some time. I have to think.” He stood up on shaking legs, and was grateful for his father’s arm.

“Take your time, but please let me know when you’d like to set up a meeting between yourself and Mrs. Hale.”

Stiles swallowed thickly, then nodded and let his dad lead him out of the office.

_ _ _ 

“Well, son,” Noah said as he pushed a milkshake across the table toward Stiles.

Stiles hunkered down in his seat, feeling strangely young again, in spite of everything going on. “Do we really need to do this?”

“Considering everything?” Noah challenged. “I’d like to be on the same page as you, and I have a feeling there’s more to this story than an anonymous donor.”

“I work at the Triskelion,” Stiles reminded him. “Which means…”

“Derek Hale is your boss,” Noah said. Like everyone in the tiny town, his dad was well aware of the new Hale CEO. “That’s…”

“We kissed. Once,” Stiles blurted, effectively shutting his father up. He sighed, then snatched the milkshake off the table and took three large swallows before he spoke again. “It was like five years ago. I was home for summer break, and I was working at the lounge. He came in after hours—the golf course had been rained out. We talked, and then we made out, and I gave him my number and he never called.”

Noah blew out a long breath of air. “Son, people like Derek Hale…”

“You don’t need to tell me this,” Stiles said, holding up his hand. “Seriously, I already know. I gave myself that little talk years ago. And he doesn’t even remember me,” Stiles pointed out, because it was true. There wasn’t a moment of recognition in Derek’s face from a few weeks before at the party—even if the guy had been _sniffing_ him. “But my point is, it’s more than complicated. I mean, I have to decide if I’m going to sue Laura Hale, and me giving the baby to its rightful owners…”

“Babies don’t have owners, Stiles,” his dad pointed out.

Stiles flushed. “Yeah, I get that, but it’s a little easier for me to process that way right now,” he said, not meaning to snap, but he couldn’t help his tone. “I just…I don’t know what to do. And now Mrs. Hale wants to talk to me? I mean, she was the one I barfed all over before the ambulance carted me to the hospital.”

His dad’s eyebrows flew up. “She was the one who was screaming at you?”

“Yeah. So, she’s some rich white lady. I mean, it’s not unexpected. I get that all the time working there. And it doesn’t mean she’s going to be a bad mom.”

Noah bit his lip, then said, “No, that’s true. It doesn’t mean that. But it does maybe mean that your child—because it is your child, son—it means he’s going to grow up in that world.”

Stiles hadn’t exactly considered that. Right now he was just coming to grips with the whole pregnant virgin thing, and now…and now what? Now he was considering letting his kid be raised like some rich asshole who got Jaguars for their sixteenth birthday?

“Fuck,” he whispered.

“You have some time to think about this,” Noah reminded him. “You don’t have to decide now.”

“I know,” Stiles said softly. “I just…I don’t think I’m ready for the whole single parent thing, dad. Even if the other parent is some rich dude. And we’ve already reached out, so they’re probably going to sue for custody even if I decide to change my mind. And again, single parent duty plus Stiles equals probably something terrible.”

“You really shouldn’t sell yourself so short,” Noah told him softly. “You’d be an amazing father.”

Stiles flushed hotly and had to look away, because in truth, he wanted to be a good dad. Was he ready for it now? No. That was…yeah. No. Not like this. Maybe not like this. Granted, the child would be loved, and Stiles had enough friends in the community to help out if he needed it. Not to mention his father, who would take to grandpa duties like a duck to water but…

“Do you want this?” Stiles asked softly.

Noah looked startled. “That’s not for me to decide, son.”

“No,” Stiles admitted slowly, “but that’s not what I’m asking you to do. I just…do you want this? You want to be a grandpa?”

“Stiles, I will love any and all children you have—regardless of how you come by them—as much as I love you, okay? So if you do this now, I’m ready. And if you choose to do this later, I’ll be ready then. This is about you.” He reached across the table and gave Stiles’ hand a squeeze before pulling away. “Now come on, I only get to indulge in these burgers when you’re feeling low, and I know it’s not going to last long. So just let me have this.”

Stiles sighed, but for the first time in years, he didn’t argue back.

_ _ _ 

Derek tried to contain his fury when he walked into Jen’s office, but his claws were out, and he could feel the electric blue burn of his eyes when he slammed the door. She looked at him, her expression mild, though he could hear the racing of her heart.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

She clasped her hands on the desk. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“After this many years, you still try to lie to me.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling his claws prick his skin, but he just swiped at the drops of blood as he stormed over to her desk. “This isn’t happening, Jennifer.”

“Derek…”

“I know you were in contact with Sti…with Mr. Stilinski. I just got off the phone with Braeden, who informed me of a meeting set up between you and Mr. Stilinski to discuss the possible future of the baby.” Derek’s voice was trembling, but he forced himself to calm down as he lowered himself into the chair across from her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“That is your child, Derek,” she said, her voice taking a hard edge. “You were devastated to learn that your entire sample was wasted thanks to your sister’s incompetence…”

“No thanks to you going behind my back to use it in the first place!” he roared, then took a breath when she flinched back. He curled his hands into fists, the pain of his claws distracting him. “You don’t get to put this on Laura. You were just as complicit, and it’s by some fucking miracle he conceived, and an even bigger miracle he’s willing to consider…not terminating.” The words were difficult to get out, but he managed them without his voice shaking.

Jen bowed her head slightly, looking contrite. “I was trying to save our marriage, Derek.”

He couldn’t help a disbelieving snort. “Really? Is that what you were doing in Deucalion’s suite? Or on your trip to London last month?” When she looked up, he fixed her with a hard stare. “I know what this is about. It’s about money. It’s about an alliance with him to get one over on my mother, to get stock in the company which is exactly what you get if we pass our three year mark. I’m not an idiot. And I’m not going to believe that you suddenly give a shit about me and want a family.”

He rose, and she followed him. “How dare you,” she spat, coming around the desk, her pose braver than he could smell on her. “How dare you accuse me of anything besides loving you, Derek! I was with you while you were sick, during treatments, surgeries. I was the one who held you while you broke down. You really think I’d stick around through all that just for money?”

Derek fixed her with a dark glower, and leaned in close, speaking low and dangerous. “I think you’d do a hell of a lot for that stock. I think you’d do whatever Duke asked you to do. People think I’m a fool because of my past mistakes, but unlike most, I learned from them. I’m filing for divorce this month, and I want you out of this hotel before the papers are served. Do you understand me?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer, just whipped around on his heel and started out.

“Derek,” she called after him.

He turned back in the doorway, and for a second she looked hopeful. All until Derek said, “If you go anywhere near Stiles, I will make you regret it.”

With that he turned, and left her standing in the middle of the room.

_ _ _ 

Derek ran his finger along the edge of the papers Braeden had set on the table between them. He winced when the paper cut his finger, but it healed in an instant. “This is it?”

“I’ve marked where you need to sign,” Braeden said with a shrug. “I’ll handle the rest. Jennifer doesn’t have a lot to fight you on at this point. You might be looking at some alimony, but considering you have a case against her with this insemination…”

Derek felt his stomach twist. “Right. Yeah. And about that…”

“I would strongly advise against you meeting Mr. Stilinski without me present,” Braeden interrupted, “however…” She gave him a level look. “However, as he’s agreeing to meet without an attorney present, it would be difficult for either of you to force a binding verbal agreement in court.”

“You think he’s going to do that?”

Braeden shrugged, then reached for her wine and took a sip. “I think if I were in Mr. Stilinski’s position, I would be looking for a decent pay-out. But I’m not sure that’s what he’s going for.”

Derek had no idea what to predict from Stiles. He was still fighting off his instincts to go to him, to leave him gifts, to make a den and keep him there—safe until the baby was born. He breathed through the urge to shift and run. “He works at the hotel. I mean…he hasn’t been to work in a while—an extended leave. My mother’s keeping him on the books to avoid retaliation accusations.”

“As I’ve advised her to do,” Braeden said mildly. She cocked her head to the side, then said, “I think you should go easy on your sister though.”

Derek’s eyes widened. “Why the hell would I? There’s no excuse for what she did.”

“I’m the last person that will use emotions as an excuse for fucking up your job,” she said. “But at the same time, I know first hand that having your throat metaphorically clawed out by someone you love and trust is worse than when it happens physically.”

Derek licked his lips. “Who…”

“Let’s just say we have a mutual acquaintance. One I’ve seen your wife with. And I wouldn’t trust him.”

Derek snorted. “I already know she’s under his thumb. That’s why I need this divorce to go off without a hitch. I can’t risk it.”

“Understood.” The bill came just after, and Braeden snatched it up. “My retainer is high enough, I can afford a few drinks, Mr. Hale.” She signed her name on the bill, then stood. “Call me if you need anything.”

Derek said nothing, but he did take note that her smell was slightly familiar. Like family.

Like Laura.

_ _ _ 

“So…you’re pregnant,” Scott said.

Stiles nodded, leaning his head against the seat rest of the jeep, staring at the entrance to the Triskelion where he was supposed to be meeting Derek and Jennifer Hale in less than ten minutes. Scott had seen him parked, and had come running since Stiles had basically ghosted after his test results.

“And you really didn’t fuck Derek?”

Stiles gave Scott a dark look. “You think I’m willing to just drop trou for any random dude…”

“He’s not a random dude, and he’s apparently the father of your baby. I’m not saying I don’t believe you, man. It’s just…kind of a lot.”

“You’re fucking telling me, Scotty,” Stiles bit out. “I didn’t expect to come out pregnant from my birth control appointment. I didn’t even get to make out with Danny that night, and I end up fucking knocked up? Trust me, I would not be joking, or making up lies. Anyway Derek’s sister’s the one who did it. Which, by the way, you cannot tell a soul.”

Scott was good at keeping secrets, even if he hated doing it. “Lips are sealed, man. Promise.”

Stiles sighed. “You should go in. This probably won’t take long, but my nausea has chilled out lately so maybe we can do COD and pizza soon?”

Scott’s eyes flickered down toward Stiles’ stomach, and he looked decidedly nervous. Stiles realized how much of this was going to change things. Not just with himself, but with his friends. With his family. Even if he never saw the baby again, people would eventually know, would eventually look at him as the guy who had that baby once. They’d always wonder where it was. 

Stiles planned to quit the Triskelion as soon as he could, but not everyone would. And Stiles would always know that his child—his baby—was here. Running around, growing up…

He swallowed thickly, but just gave Scott a wave as his friend clambered out of the jeep and ran inside. He waited another five minutes before gathering his courage and walking into the lounge.

Most of the people on duty didn’t ask why he was there, and the hostess at the front of the restaurant wasn’t someone he’d ever met. She was expecting him though, and took him to a small table at the back of the restaurant which was mostly obscured by privacy screens. 

Stiles sat, feeling strange on the other side of the table this time—not standing to take orders, but waiting to give his own. He wondered what it would be like to live this life.

His thoughts were interrupted when a shadow crossed over him, and he immediately jumped to his feet when he saw Derek there. His first realization was that Derek was alone, and the second was that he somehow looked even better than he had the night of the party. He had ditched the linen pants and button-ups, and was wearing a pair of jeans which probably cost more than his dad’s mortgage payment, and a purple Henley with thumb holes.

Stiles flushed, almost violently reminded of the guy Stiles had kissed five years ago.

“Sorry I’m late,” Derek said smoothly. “Please, sit.”

“Is your wife joining us?” Stiles asked.

Derek’s face went a little pinched, his eyes dark, but his tone was pleasant when he said, “She’s tied up with some work unfortunately. It’ll have to be just us. I hope…I hope that’s okay?”

He was still in there. That slightly insecure, adorably awkward guy from the golf course. Stiles’ heart ached, and he tried to keep himself steady. “That’s fine. I mean, this is an informal meeting, right?”

“Right,” Derek said with a heavy breath. He signaled the server, and before Stiles could say anything, there was ice water on the table, a basket of bread, and some appetizers ordered. “I hope that’s okay,” Derek asked. “You’re not…I mean. I’m not telling you what to do, but drinking is probably…”

“I don’t really drink too much anyway,” Stiles said with a shrug. “And this is fine. My stomach is just now coming back online from all the uh…puking. Which wow, I said that at a dinner table.”

Derek’s lips twitched into a soft smile, and Stiles felt an urging rush to reach over and kiss him. He did not expect the crush to still be this bad, and he was horrified at himself. “Don’t worry about it. I have a big family, I’m very aware of the good and bad parts of carrying children. I uh…I’m sorry about all of this, by the way. I feel like I can’t be sorry enough.”

“Dude,” Stiles said, and spared a moment to remember the first time he’d called him that, and the scowl on Derek’s face, and the way he’d bit out, _“Don’t call me dude.”_ That was missing this time. “This was not your fault. I’m pretty sure when you banked sperm at the doctor’s office you weren’t intending on knocking up some hyper weirdo…”

“I don’t think you’re a hyper wierdo,” Derek said quietly.

Stiles flushed and cleared his throat. “Anyway uh. I’m glad you agreed to meet me. I mean, I know this probably isn’t how you and your wife imagined the whole kid thing going. And I hope this isn’t going to fuck up anything when you try again…”

“We can’t try again,” Derek said, and his voice was slightly strained. His brow was dipped into a frown, and he looked like he was struggling to make words. “I’m…I was sick.”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, because he followed that news story like it was headlines, only calming down when the rumor mill informed the hotel that Derek was fine, and he’d live.

“I…it was testicular cancer,” Derek said, very quietly. He tore at some of the bread, but didn’t eat any of it. “Before my surgery, I banked my sperm for the future because they had to remove them and uh…” He swallowed. “Anyway, Jennifer ordered the whole sample to be used for the insemination.”

Stiles’ eyes went wide with the horror he felt. “What?” he whispered.

Derek shrugged. “It’s not the worst thing, okay. It’s not…”

“Jesus, Derek! Are you telling me this is your only…that I have the last…” He stumbled over his words, his hands trembling. “And I almost took those pills!” he hissed at last.

Derek’s cheeks went a little pink. “I’m grateful you didn’t.”

“Fuck.” Stiles dragged a hand down his face, then scrambled for his water, gulping down half and getting a cold headache. He rubbed at the center of his forehead. “I wish I had known. I wouldn’t have even considered…”

“Hey,” Derek said quietly, and Stiles looked up at him. “I appreciate—more than I can tell you—that you’re keeping the baby. But biology isn’t everything, okay? If anything happens—because I know things can go wrong—it won’t be the end of the world. I’d like…I’d like to be involved somehow, in the baby’s life. But this isn’t going to ruin me if it doesn’t work out. That’s not on you, okay? When I found out about my diagnosis, I banked my sperm because my sister told me it was a good idea, and I’m not sorry I did it. But by then I had already understood that my chances of having a biological family were probably slim to none. Surviving my illness was more important.”

“Okay,” Stiles said, but that didn’t erase the weight of what he was carrying now. “Just…I want you more than involved, Derek.”

For a second, Derek’s entire face lit up. “You do?”

“Yes,” Stiles said, abandoning all pretense and reaching to put his hand over Derek’s. “I want you and your wife to raise this baby.”

Derek’s face shuttered closed, and he slowly withdrew his hand, though not impolitely. It was a strange reaction, but Stiles knew Derek had always been a little bit strange.

“Look, I have nothing against single parents. My dad did amazing with me after my mom died, and I was the worst little shit. And Scott’s mom? She’s been a bad ass for most of his life, and he turned out fantastic. But I still remember how hard it was for me sometimes. How lonely. I remember nights in high school my dad worked late, and I had to make my own dinner and put myself to bed, and I don’t…if I can give my kid something else? Two parents who love each other and love them? Well, I want to do it.”

“That’s what we were hoping to hear,” came a voice to Stiles’ right, and his head turned to see Jennifer—the woman who had nearly attacked him by the pool. He flushed and moved to stand, but she put a hand on his shoulder. “Please, sit. I finished up early and I wanted to come over and apologize to you about that day by the pool. I…I wasn’t myself. I was reeling from the negative pregnancy test, and I thought I’d failed, but…well.”

Stiles flushed again. “I understand. Really. No harm, no foul.”

Jennifer smiled beatifically, but Derek looked like he was trying to set a fire with his mind. He sat back in his chair, arms crossed, and Stiles frowned but decided not to read too much into it. He barely knew either of them, and this situation was stressful for everyone involved.

“I just feel terrible knowing the stress I caused you. Especially in your condition,” she went on.

Stiles waved her off. “It was fine. It’s not like anyone could have known, you know? At the time. And I survived, and the baby’s good.”

At that, Derek’s face softened. “Have you seen a doctor?”

Stiles nodded. “A few times. I’m having an ultrasound in a few weeks. I thought uh…if either of you wanted to come, or I could bring you pictures or something?”

“That would be wonderful,” Jennifer said, and leaned close to Derek.

Stiles felt his heart twist with jealousy—the strength of it surprising him. He fought the urge to grab his fork and stab her in the thigh with it. He blinked to clear his head. “We can be in touch, of course. My lawyer uh…he said we shouldn’t try to make any deals yet but…but I want this. I want the baby to be happy.”

“Then we’re on the same page. Derek and I have been wanting to start a family for so long now, and we’re finally in the position to do it. Unconventional, of course, but if you’re willing…”

“I am,” Stiles said. The words made his heart feel like it was breaking, but he told himself it was for the best. What was best for the baby. He closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. “So…uh. Maybe you can tell me what to expect from a possible werewolf pregnancy?”

At that, Jennifer’s eyes darkened, but Derek met him with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update until either Sunday or Monday, but hopefully by then I'll have a decent amount written up, so there won't be too long of a wait to get this fic finished. I really appreciate the comments and kudos so far, and I'll get to answering them as fast as I can.
> 
> No warnings for this chapter except a little bit of drama, and a little bit of Derek being a dipshit. But he gets over it, I promise lol.

It was no surprise she refused to meet Derek’s eyes, but her jaw was hard and set, unrepentant. She ignored the way he tried to pin her with a glare as she began to methodically strip out of her clothes.

“You’re not staying here,” he eventually said.

She turned to him. “You want this baby.”

“Yes,” he said, not bothering to lie.

“He’s not going to give it to you unless you’re willing to play happy couple with me, Der. Which means I do live here, because happy couples don’t live in separate homes. And neither do happy couples serve each other with divorce papers.” She breezed past him into the bedroom which still held most of her things.

Frustration and fury welled up in him, and Derek stormed out. He barely made it past the pool, and to the entrance of the preserve before he gave in. He managed to unbutton his pants and get his shirt off, but the full shift ripped the rest away from him. His paws felt at home on the forest floor, and with a long, angry howl, he let himself go.

Hours later, he slipped into one of the pool cabanas, grabbing a pair of extra board shorts from the supply closet. He cracked the code on the bar, pulled out a couple of the tiny whiskey bottles, and made himself a drink. The pool was empty, and he eased himself down along the edge, his feet soothed by the cool water.

“Room for one more?” came a voice to his right.

Derek turned his head and while he didn’t smile, his mouth softened as he set eyes on Erica. She was dressed in sweats, the pants rolled up to her knees, and a loose t-shirt that was probably Boyd’s. She eased herself down and let her ankle knock against his in the water.

“Shit night?”

Derek snorted. “That’s the understatement of the year.”

“I’m betting it had everything to do with the amount of chocolate cake and vodka Jen had delivered up to your suite. I thought maybe you two reconciled, but then I heard the howling.”

Derek flushed. His mother wouldn’t be happy about the racket, but hopefully at this point in time, she’d at least understand why he couldn’t keep it in any longer. “Stiles wants to give me the baby. Me and Jennifer,” he amended. “He wants the baby to have a happy home with two parents.”

“And he doesn’t know you don’t have all of that to give?” she asked.

Derek shrugged one shoulder, and downed his drink. “I was going to tell him. I met him tonight to tell him everything.”

“Everything,” she pressed, waggling her eyebrows. Obviously Boyd had spilt.

Derek sighed. “Not everything, but enough. The truth, anyway. But that bitch walked up and ran her mouth, and now it looks like I’m the liar. Or the monster.”

“You are not a monster,” she said, hurried and fierce. “Derek…” She trailed off, and it was clear from her tone she knew what he was thinking. That he was a monster. That people he loved died, or were put in danger, and maybe it was insane that he was considering trying to add a child into this mix.

“I don’t know what he’ll want to do now,” Derek confessed.

“You have to tell him,” Erica pressed. “I…I mean, Stiles and I have known each other a long time, and he went to bat for me more than anyone ever had. He got beat up for me in sophomore year when that asshole Jackson put a video of me seizing up on facebook.”

Derek felt a rumble in his chest, but Erica touched his hand and soothed it.

“I had a thing for him,” she said with a laugh. “Before I met Boyd. He’s a good guy, and he’s not…” She hesitated, her gaze flickering over to the ornate terrace attached to the hotel’s second floor. “He doesn’t have a lot of good feelings about privilege. Because he didn’t grow up with a lot. And he grew up with people like me—like Boyd, who couldn’t take me on a date without getting pulled over by every upstart, white-boy cop in this stupid town. And me, who had to sometimes choose between our electric bill and my epilepsy meds. And Scott, and his mom, and his dad might be Sheriff, but he was also an alcoholic after Stiles’ mom died, and Stiles had to grow up really fast. And then he had to give up school and everything he wanted for a future to take care of the people he loved.”

“What are you trying to say?” Derek asked, his voice strained, and feeling anything but good enough for his mate.

“I’m saying that he wants more than he can give to his kid, and that I don’t think you and Jen divorcing is going to be a deal-breaker. I think that if he knew the truth, you and Jen staying together would give him second thoughts. I also think that maybe he doesn’t…entirely want nothing to do with this whole thing. And I don’t think you want him to hand over the baby and disappear, either.”

The very thought of that made Derek’s stomach ache, and he shook his head. “No,” he said gruffly. “That’s the last thing I want.”

“So ditch that bitch and go talk to Stiles. You can get his address from the employee files. Break a few codes, and go talk to him. He’ll appreciate the honesty, if nothing else.”

Derek let out a trembling breath, but nodded. “Thanks.”

“Yeah.” She knocked her elbow into him. “Anyway, I call godmother.”

Derek rolled his eyes, but smiled as he put an arm around her and dragged her close.

_ _ _ 

The fine layer of dust on the boxes made him sneeze six times in a row, but in spite of his watering eyes, Stiles dug into the first box like a starving man at a buffet. It yielded very little at first—old clothes which were worn and moth-eaten, faded print-outs of bills and car repair records.

The second and third box was the same, but the fourth was the prize. The fourth was the treasure chest he felt like he’d been searching for for hours. The top held a stack of photo albums, and below that, hand-written dairies, followed by the old books with pages folded, and names circled.

This was everything his mother had left behind—her legacy for him should he ever choose to conceive. Stiles didn’t think he’d ever look in these boxes. His father had told him about them years ago, just after his puberty started and they found out about his bearer status. He told Stiles that when he was ready, when it was time, the boxes were his.

Stiles didn’t think it would ever stop being too painful to look through them. And even now, as he flipped open the first diary and saw the old, familiar loopy handwriting that used to cover the notes left with his school lunches, his throat got tight and his eyes too warm.

Stiles found himself pressing his hand to the flat of his stomach, like he was trying to keep everything inside. “My mom was great,” he told the small embryo who had no ears to hear him just yet. “Your grandma would have loved the hell out of you.”

The thought of it made his decision waver. To give away the child, to give away his father’s grandchild. To give up all rights…

He didn’t want to cut Derek and Jennifer out of anything, of course, but as the days wore on, Stiles wasn’t sure he could cut himself out, either. He had almost nothing to give this baby. A few hundred in savings, and a dusty old guest room they could turn into a nursery. It wasn’t nothing, but it wasn’t nearly what the baby deserved, either.

Stiles set the diary aside and opened up the first photo album. The first eight pages were belly shots, from the day they found out, to the day before Stiles had been born. Looking at his mother’s exhausted but euphoric smile made him realize that would be him some day.

Stiles pressed against his belly again, and knew he might have to reconsider the terms of his arrangement with the Hales. Even if it meant keeping Derek in his life in some capacity.

Sitting back with a sigh, Stiles snatched one of the pregnancy books out of the box and flipped to the introduction. “So, you’re having a baby,” the first line read, and it made him laugh. The rest of it was informative, if not a little dated. But he found himself nodding along with the fatigue, and the constant urination, and the morning sickness. The way his hair seemed fuller, and the way his cheeks seemed to glow a little more than usual.

He was halfway done reading about vitamin-induced constipation when a knock on the wall interrupted him. He glanced up to see his father leaning in the doorway. “So. You found them.”

Stiles sighed. “Not the way I wanted to open these boxes for the first time. But…yeah.”

Noah pursed his lips, then shrugged. “There’s someone here for you. I’ll…be in my office if you need me.”

Stiles frowned at his tone, but climbed to his feet and carefully made his way down the ladder, down the stairs, and to the door. Where he promptly froze, only just keeping his jaw from dropping open, because it was Derek Hale standing there on the porch looking completely out of place in his designer jeans, with his camaro parked next to his dad’s cruiser.

“Uh,” Stiles said.

Derek flushed adorably pink. “I’m sorry to drop in. I uh…I needed to…” He scratched at the back of his neck. “Can we talk?”

“Yes,” Stiles said. He ignored the rushing nerves and invited the guy in. Looking around, he motioned toward the kitchen with his chin. “You want something to drink? I have tea, water, beer…”

“Whatever you’re having,” Derek said absently as he glanced around. Stiles could see the way his nostrils flared, the way he was taking in all the scents, and he wondered if Derek could smell the baby growing in him.

He distracted himself from that thought by flicking the kettle on and pulling two mugs from the cupboard. “I only have chamomile bags. Is that okay?”

“Perfectly fine,” Derek said, a hint of smile on his face. He still looked nervous, but decidedly more relaxed now that he was perched on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. “How are you uh…feeling? And all that?”

Stiles snorted a laugh. “Fine, I guess? According to the books, everything seems pretty normal. Of course, they’re not books for possible werewolf pregnancy so…” Stiles shrugged. Derek had told him that night at dinner that the child wouldn’t show traits until the first hints of puberty, around eight or nine years old. It was a long time to wait, though Stiles realized it didn’t matter to him so long as the baby was healthy.

Both Derek and Jennifer seemed happy with that answer, even if Derek seemed off.

Stiles turned with the mugs in his hand, and almost flinched when Derek’s hand came up, and reached for his face. He made a small noise in the back of his throat as Derek’s thumb rubbed over his cheek.

“Dust,” Derek said, the tips of his ears flushing pink.

“Oh,” Stiles said, rolling his eyes at himself. “Jesus, I must look disgusting. I was up in the attic,” he explained. “My mom left me some uh…some of her old stuff. Baby and pregnancy stuff and I thought…you know. Might as well, right? Even if I’m not…” He cleared his throat, not capable of saying what he didn’t mean.

Derek gave him a careful look. “Are you okay?”

Stiles shrugged. “It’s hard. I miss her. I feel like without her, this whole thing is impossible to deal with.” His voice went tight, and he took a sip of tea to collect himself. “Anyway…you wanted to talk to me?”

Derek blinked, then nodded and finally took the mug sitting in front of him. He gave it a deep sniff, then drank half of it down in spite of the boiling heat. “I know you said it was important to you that the baby have a stable, loving home with two parents.”

Stiles frowned. “Yes.”

Derek glanced away, like he was unable to meet Stiles’ eyes. “I want to be part of this baby’s life no matter what. If you’ll let me. But I can’t…I can’t give the baby that kind of stability.”

Stiles froze. “I…what?”

“Before we met for dinner that night,” Derek said, his voice strained, “I had asked her for a divorce. This whole thing,” he waved his hand at Stiles, “she did it behind my back. I wasn’t aware she’d spoken to my sister, that she was using my sample. When I found out about you, I also found out about her.”

“Holy shit,” Stiles breathed.

Derek huffed a humorless laugh. “Yeah. Pretty much. She wasn’t supposed to show up the other night. I was going to tell you, but you seemed so dead set on this baby having both parents. I was afraid to say anything, I didn’t want to lose the chance at getting to know my child. But…” He puffed out a lungful of air and shrugged.

“Derek, I don’t want to take this child from you,” Stiles said, and abandoned all pretense to reach over and put his hand on Derek’s arm. He felt it jump under his fingers, but he just clung on harder, ignoring how right it felt, how much it made him want. “I’m not cutting you out because things are bad.”

Derek bowed his head. “There’s…more. I need to…”

His words were cut off when the doorbell rang, and Stiles looked over his shoulder with a frown. “Sorry. Jeeze. I’m not expecting anyone. Let me just…” He hopped up, and snorted slightly with amusement when he realized Derek had followed him, looking protective and ready to pounce. Stiles pushed down how much it made him feel safe, and reached for the door.

His eyebrows flew up when he saw Danny standing there on his porch with a paper bag in one hand, and flowers in the other. “Hey,” he said. “I…your dad said you’ve been sick, which was why I figured you weren’t returning my calls. I was afraid it was serious, so I decided to drop by with soup and…” He trailed off when he caught sight of Derek.

Stiles’ face went red. “I…uh. This is…Derek? Hale? From the Triskelion? My boss,” he blurted, because he wasn’t exactly sure how CEO Derek Hale was going to feel about Stiles telling the world that some grad-school drop-out was his baby daddy.

Derek’s face was impassive, but his shoulders were tense. “I was just checking in,” he said gruffly.

Danny hesitated, then held out the soup. “Call me later? I don’t want to interrupt work stuff.”

Stiles took the soup, then the flowers, and even accepted a kiss to his cheek which was unexpected considering the last time he’d actually seen Danny, he’d puked all over him. It would have been sweet—would have sent him head over heels if his living room wasn’t currently full of Derek Hale.

He waited for Danny to reach his car, then turned back to Derek who had his hands shoved in his pockets. “I’m sorry. He’s…we’re…”

“He seems nice,” Derek said, a little strained as he gestured to the flowers.

Stiles looked down, eyes slightly wide. “Oh. Uh. I guess?” He really didn’t want to talk about this, and he’d have to make time soon to set Danny straight. Not like the guy would want to date him after learning the truth anyway. He shoved everything on the table, then said, “So…you were saying something. You had more to tell me?”

Derek frowned, then said, “Yes. Right. You and I shouldn’t talk about this anymore without a lawyer.”

Stiles blinked. “I…what?”

“I mean, I’m assuming you’re suing my sister, which you have every right. But there’s a conflict of interest. I think,” he said, then huffed, “you and your lawyer could discuss an amount, then come to me with it. You’ll make more money that way, nothing will be tied up in court fees.”

Stiles took a step back, shocked. This entire conversation had done a total 180, and he didn’t know what Derek was implying. “I…what do you mean more money?”

“Well, I mean, in your position…” Derek began.

Every kind thing Stiles had been thinking about Derek evaporated, and he was viciously reminded of who he really was. A rich boy, born with a silver spoon, who had no idea. No idea. And this man was going to be the father of his child. “In my position,” Stiles said coldly. “Right. The position of waiter. Who drives a shitty jeep, and lives in a tiny house.”

“That’s not what I meant. Stiles,” Derek said a little helplessly. “I want to help.”

“Yeah, well helping isn’t trying to buy the baby off me, Mr. Hale,” Stiles snapped at him. “You were right about the lawyer thing. I’m sure my attorney—which I paid for all on my own, might I add—no rich mommy to help me—will be in touch.”

He swung the door open, and Derek deflated, letting Stiles show him out. Stiles slammed the door on him, then flopped on the couch and stared at the paper bag with soup. If circumstances were different, Stiles would have called Danny right then—would have been taken out, and maybe spoiled a little. If circumstances were different, Stiles wouldn’t be knocked up, and feeling like his heart was breaking all over again.

_ _ _ 

When Derek walked into his mother’s office, he was forced to take a step back, overwhelmed by the smell of Stiles. His mate’s scent had only grown stronger since the conception of his child, and Derek could smell himself mingled in there too—or well, he could smell Hale, from the growing child. It made his fingers itch to release claws, made him want to find Stiles and scent him until there was nothing left but Derek, and baby, and the underlying scent of mate.

He did none of those things. He composed himself, and shut the door, then walked over and took a seat in front of her desk. “Why does it smell like Stiles in here?”

She raised a perfectly sculpted brow at him. “He was asking to be put back on the schedule.”

Derek heard himself growl before he was aware he was doing it, and he quickly stopped. “He’s pregnant, mother. He can’t be…he can’t be carrying trays and…”

She lifted a hand, and he went quiet. “He can, actually. He’s not high risk, sweetheart. He’s a perfectly stable, pregnant person, who wants to get back to his life. His words,” she added when Derek’s brow dipped into a bigger frown. “You can’t blame him for that, Derek.”

Derek sighed, because she wasn’t wrong. Derek had to remember his place. Stiles might be his mate, but he wasn’t _his_. Derek had no claim over him, and this child was conceived by deception and medical incompetence, not by choice. The fact that Stiles was keeping it was a miracle in itself. But Stiles had a boyfriend—an attractive, attentive man, and Derek hadn’t even stopped to consider that Stiles—a human, who likely was unaware of what or who he was to Derek—might be taken.

It was like being gutted, and Derek regretted everything he’d said to Stiles when he left, but he’d panicked.

“Is there something you needed?” Talia asked.

Derek swallowed. “I may have…made things slightly worse.”

Talia put her pen down slowly, then clasped her hands in front of her. She was a dangerous Alpha, Derek knew that, but she was also his mother. He had seen her carefully constructing solutions to her children’s antics for years. Including his own.

He knew she wasn’t angry—just preparing.

“I went to see him. I had to be honest with him. The other night, Jen ambushed us at dinner, and I didn’t get the chance to tell him that my marriage was over,” Derek said with a heavy sigh. “He seemed so happy that the baby would have a stable home—two parents.” Swallowing thickly, he couldn’t meet his mother’s eyes. “I had to tell him the truth, so I got his address and went to his house.”

“Oh, Derek,” Talia said quietly.

Derek flushed. “I know. I just…I’m so tired of feeling out of control, of letting Jennifer have the last word.” Derek’s hands curled into fists. “She’s in bed with Duke, mother. You do realize that, don’t you? She’s trying to delay our divorce to ride out the prenup.”

Talia closed her eyes slowly, then opened them. “I have been aware of your wife’s…activities for some time now.”

Derek sat forward, letting his hands drop in the space between his thighs, and rested his forearms on his legs. A submissive posture, as he tilted his head to the side. “I had to tell Stiles, even if it meant losing the baby.”

“He’s not going to give it up, Derek,” Talia said, and her tone was careful with him. “But you can’t offer to buy him off.”

Derek flushed even deeper. “That was…a mistake. I didn’t mean it like that. He just…his boyfriend came over to bring him soup and flowers, and I…” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Derek,” she said softly.

Derek stared down at his hands when he spoke. “He’s my mate, mom. Stiles is…I’ve known, since before Kate. But he was young, and I was stupid, and…” Shaking his head, he made himself look up at her. “I destroyed that, and now he’s pregnant with my child and I don’t know how to talk to him.”

Talia rose, then came over and gently pressed her palm to the side of his neck. Derek’s entire being submitted to the care of both Alpha and mother. He felt young, safe, surrounded by her power and scent. “Things will work out however they work out. Mates isn’t everything.”

“I know,” Derek said quietly, thinking of his father.

“They’re not nothing though,” Talia told him. “Just…try to be kind. And try to remember that he’s not a wolf. He’s not driven by instinct the way you are. You’ll find a compromise. I trust you.”

Derek sighed, and leaned carefully into her touch.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Long weekend, and I'm just getting ready for bed, but I got this back from my beta so I thought I'd post before that. 
> 
> I should note that yes, this fic has lots of drama and miscommunication, but hopefully the ending will make it satisfying. Also the rating is explicit for later, and in spite of Stiles maybe considering his relationship with Danny, the only on-screen sex will be Sterek.
> 
> Also, as a commenter before noted, "the rest of the Hales are all terrible people." And to be fair, I normally don't write them this way, but they're based on the JTV characters, so they're a little bit trash more than other fics lol. I don't plan on making Laura the worst guy through the whole fic, I just love her too much to do that to her.

Stiles leaned against the bar, thumbing the edge of his phone, deliberately not looking up at Erica, Scott, or Kira.

“How many texts is that?” Erica finally asked.

Stiles sighed. “From Danny? Just two. But two’s enough right? Two means that he’s trying to pursue me, so I have to…I have to tell him.”

Kira made a small noise of sympathy, and reached over, curling her fingers around his wrist. “You probably should. I mean, you don’t have to tell him you’re…you know…”

“Up the duff,” Erica said with a sharp grin, and Stiles almost laughed at the offended way Scott glared at her.

“That,” Kira said. “But you should probably at least let him down gently. He seems to like you.”

“Why me,” Stiles groaned, letting his head fall to the top of the cool granite bar. “Danny was the never settle down, different dude every night guy back in college, guy. Even high school! Why now?”

“Because you’re a catch,” Scott said loyally.

Stiles turned his head so his cheek was mashed against the bar, and he smiled at his friend. “Thanks, Scotty. You’re the best. But this is terrible fucking timing for Danny to grow the settle down gene. I hate dumping people.”

“I mean, you went on half a date and puked on the guy. It’s not really dumping him, is it?” Erica asked.

Stiles shrugged, and peeled himself away from the bar. “I guess not. Still sucks. And I have my first ultrasound next week and I just…I don’t know.” He sighed heavily. It had been a while since Derek tried to talk to him—since the disastrous afternoon where he offered to basically buy the baby, and implied that Stiles could benefit monetarily from this situation which should have killed his crush, but instead just made the crush feel like swallowing sharp knives every time he thought about it.

“Is uh…anyone coming with you?” Kira asked, careful not to say Derek’s name, even if they all knew exactly who she meant. It wasn’t easy for Stiles to keep it a secret around the hotel, especially since all of his friends, it turned out, were close with Derek.

“No. I mean, maybe my dad, if he can get the time off. But yeah no. It’s just me.” Stiles rubbed his hand across his face, and when he looked up, he saw his friends all looking startled. Frowning, he followed their eyeline and saw Derek Hale lurking in the doorway to the bar.

“Busted,” Erica said.

They all began to scatter, but before Stiles could escape the room, Derek was at his side. “Can we uh…talk?”

Stiles’ first instinct was to run. His second was to tell Derek to fuck off. But he went with the third. “Yeah, I guess. Here or…?”

“Let’s go in the back,” Derek said, eyeing the front of the bar where a few customers were loitering.

Stiles felt a pang of disappointment, but it’s not like he blamed Derek for not wanting the world to know. It was bad enough half the staff was aware of his situation now, even if they were friends with Derek. He set his towel down on the bar, then followed Derek into the server station behind swinging doors.

“So,” Stiles said, folding his arms over his chest. “What’s up?”

Derek rubbed at the back of his neck, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “I uh. How are you?”

Stiles’ eyes went wide. “Fine, I guess. Same shit, different day. Is that really what you dragged me over here for?”

Derek rolled his eyes up to the ceiling like he was praying for help, then looked down, and Stiles saw the tips of his ears faintly pink. “I wanted to apologize, first of all. I didn’t mean to imply…any of what I implied. Back at your house,” he clarified, as though Stiles didn’t remember the moment vividly. “I’m not sure how to talk to you, you know? How not to overstep? I know you agreed to let me have some part of this, but it’s still your life, and your body going through it.”

Stiles hated himself for the way he softened, and the way he still wanted. “It’s fine, dude. Really.”

Derek pulled a face. “I hate when you call me dude.”

Stiles burst out laughing. “Sorry, I just…” He wanted to remind Derek about that rainy afternoon, to tell Derek he remembered, because he remembered everything about that day. But he didn’t. “I’ll try not to.”

Derek’s mouth twitched up at the corner. “I got an earful from Erica, and Boyd on your behalf. And my mother,” he said, and gave a sad shrug. “Of course I knew I had been an asshole the moment I left. I didn’t mean to screw anything up between you and your boyfriend…”

“Not my boyfriend,” Stiles said in a rush. “Danny’s a…uh. I don’t know. We had a date, and it went poorly. I’ve known him forever and if I wanted to mess around, he’d be perfect. But I’m not exactly in the condition to be messing around, you know?”

Derek hung his head a little. “I know. And that’s my fault.”

“It’s your sister’s fault,” Stiles reminded him. “I know you love her—she’s your sister, and I’m not asking you to crucify her. But she made a big fucking mistake and now…”

“I know,” Derek said softly. 

Stiles swallowed thickly, and couldn’t seem to stop himself from touching his stomach. He watched Derek’s eyes track the motion, but they didn’t linger. “I haven’t changed my mind, you know. About you being part of this. I know things in your life are complicated, and I’m not exactly thrilled that you’re getting a divorce, but I get it. And for the record, I think you’ll be good at it. The parent thing.”

Derek blew out a puff of air, and his smile was small, and shy, but it was also the most genuine one yet. “I was wondering if I could uh…come to the doctor’s appointment with you.”

Stiles blinked at him. “Oh. Um.”

“I just…I couldn’t help but overhear you said you had a sonogram and I’d like to…to uh…” He trailed off nervously.

“Of course,” Stiles said, and he almost reached out to touch him, stopping himself at the last second. “Of course you can. I’ll text you with the details?”

Derek almost frantically nodded. “Yes. Thank you. And if you need anything…” He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “This is my personal line, and I don’t care if it’s three AM and you need a gallon of peanut butter ice cream or whatever. Just tell me, okay? I want to make this as easy as possible on you.”

Stiles’ fingers shook a little when he took Derek’s phone and put his number in, sending himself a text before handing it back. He couldn’t seem to make his voice work, to acknowledge what Derek was offering, because it was too much. Too close to what he wanted—too close to how he’d envisioned himself actually having a child.

Finally, after a near eternity, he looked up. “Thank you. Anyway I should get back to work.”

“Are you sure you should,” Derek began.

“Yes,” Stiles interrupted. “As I’ve told literally everyone who keeps asking me that damn question, I’m perfectly fine to work. People work all the way through their pregnancies, and until the doctor tells me I can’t anymore, I’m going to keep it up. I can’t afford not to.”

He didn’t miss the way Derek flinched, but he more than appreciated that Derek didn’t offer to make that stress go away.

“I’ll talk to you soon, then?” Derek finally asked.

Stiles nodded, then hurried off through the doors and did his best not to think for the rest of the night.

_ _ _ 

Stiles was just slipping the tray of polished silverware into the cupboard above the drink station when he heard a voice speak behind him. “Are you sure you should be lifting stuff in your condition?”

Stiles just managed not to drop the tray, and then turned to see Jennifer standing there, leaning against the door with her arms folded over her chest. Her face was soft, but there was something calculating, almost terrifying, in her gaze.

“I’m good. Really,” he said, annoyance joining his fear. “My doctor gave me the go-ahead to keep working, so…” He trailed off with a shrug.

The corner of her mouth lifted. “I see. Well.” She looked around, then said, “I’m sure Derek has told you every awful thing about me, and I imagine you don’t want to speak with me, but I was hoping we could talk.”

The hair on the back of Stiles’ neck stood up, but he didn’t give in to his nerves. “I’m not exactly sure I have anything to say to you, and frankly I don’t think us talking is a good idea.”

She huffed a small laugh. “It’s not going to affect your case against Laura, Stiles. You’ll get your money.”

Stiles blinked at her. “Jesus. You’re…” He clenched his jaw, then turned. “You know what, I’m certain I have nothing to say to you.” He started off down the server corridor, but he could hear the clicking of her heels as she followed him.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a rush, reaching for his arm. Her fingers dug into his bicep a little meanly. “Stiles, I didn’t mean to imply…”

“Yeah,” he said, wrenching away from her. “No one ever means to imply. But maybe people might want to take a minute and consider that I’m not doing this to get cash. If anyone around here bothers to recall, _I didn’t ask for any of this_. I went in for a birth control shot so I maybe...I might lose my virginity to the guy I liked, and somehow instead I end up a fucking pregnant virgin.”

Jennifer at least had the care to look partly chastised, and she leaned against the wall in front of him, blocking his exit. “I’m sorry. I get wrapped up on how badly this all snowballed and I just…forget.”

Stiles tightened his jaw. “Yeah well…I mean, you kind of made your own bed here, lady. Trying to use a pregnancy to force Derek to stay married to you…”

She interrupted with a bitter laugh. “Is that what he told you?”

Stiles lifted his chin. “Yes, and I have no reason not to believe him.”

“Of course you don’t,” she said quietly. “He takes one look at you with those hazel eyes, and that little smile…” She shook her head. “I know how charming he can be—how convincing. And I won’t deny that I did get pregnant so he’d stay with me. But it’s because I love him, and we were in love once. I…I just…I know where we lost it, and I thought maybe this would help get it back.”

Stiles raised a brow, and he hated himself for the little pang of sympathy that flared to life in his stomach. “You do realize that never works out, right? Babies destroy more marriages than they save. That’s like basic statistics.”

Jennifer rubbed under one of her eyes. “Yeah, but it was the only thing I had left to give him. And then his sister fucked it all up and now I’m living in some apartment and waiting for his lawyer to slap me with divorce papers.”

Stiles frowned, surprised that hadn’t been started already. “He hasn’t started the divorce yet?”

She shrugged. “I thought maybe he was…I don’t know. Maybe taking actual time to think about what we could have. How hard it’ll be for him to parent alone, and how much I already love this baby, even if it doesn’t have a heartbeat yet.”

Stiles fought back a sigh. She wasn’t wrong, in a way. Even with all the money in the world, it would be easier for Derek to have a partner—someone who loved him and the baby in equal measure. It was what appealed to Stiles in the first place. It was what made the idea of giving the baby away a little easier to bear—knowing what the child might have.

“I could talk to him. If you want,” he offered, hating himself for it.

Jennifer’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“I have an ultrasound in a few days, and he’s coming with me. I uh…I’ll talk to him then.” Stiles bit the inside of his cheek to keep from offering more.

Jennifer pushed away from the wall, and without warning, dragged Stiles into a hug. It felt all wrong, cold, and too stiff, and his every instinct told him to run. But instead of that, he awkwardly pat her on the back, then pulled away slowly.

“Thank you,” she said, and though all of her seemed impersonal and maybe a little cruel, he believed her thanks was genuine.

“Yeah. No problem.” He started away, but she made a noise for him to wait, and she dug into her purse. After a second, she handed him a card, and he saw a number printed in black embossed on the front.

“Call me if you need anything, okay? I know you didn’t ask for this, so if there’s some way I can make it easier…”

The offer coming from her was not as warm, and not as welcome as the one that had come from Derek. All the same, he tucked it into his pocket, then hurried off before he got dragged into anything else.

_ _ _ 

“You’re really going to do this?” Laura asked.

Derek couldn’t help his glower, or the electric blue heat of his eyes as he looked across the table at her. The very fact that she was sitting there was almost too much for him, but he had promised his mother to try and move past it.

“I don’t really think that’s any of your business,” Derek said, snappish.

Laura’s cheeks pinked, and she glanced at Talia who was deliberately saying nothing. “I’m just…this man is going to sue me. He’s going to ruin my practice…”

“You really want sympathy from me?” Derek asked. 

“I thought maybe you’d understand, considering all the absolutely fucked up decisions and mistakes you made after Paige. After Kate,” Laura said.

Derek curled his hands into fists. “You think this is lack of sympathy for your marriage?” His voice was barely containing his fury. “You think…” He shook his head, dragging a hand down his face. “This isn’t about that, Laura. This is about you knowing what kind of person Jennifer is—knowing I was miserable—and not even checking in with me when she showed up at your office to be impregnated with my only biological sample!”

Her face paled, but she looked determined. “Am I ever going to live this down?”

Derek dropped his fork and pushed his chair away from the table, hands splayed flat on either side of his plate. “Maybe. Some day. But you can’t force anyone to be ready to forgive you. You fucked up, and now you’re dealing with the consequences. If I have anything to say about it, he’ll sue your ass into oblivion and you’ll never practice medicine again.” 

Talia made an aborted noise to call him back, but even her Alpha voice couldn’t penetrate his rage. He let the door slam on his way out, and he paid no attention to where he was walking until he ended up at the pool’s edge. There were a few guests lounging in the hot tub, but the pool was empty, and only one person crouched behind the bar, restocking.

The moment the breeze picked up even the slightest bit, Derek knew it was Stiles, and he found himself approaching the small cabana without really meaning to. Just as he stepped under, Stiles rose and flailed, pressing a hand over his heart.

“Jesus, someone needs to get you a freaking bell or something,” he gasped, leaning on the bar.

Derek’s mouth twitched in spite of himself, and he was profoundly aware of how soothing it was to be in Stiles’ presence, how much it made every one of his stressors seem far away. “Sorry,” he eventually said.

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Whatever man, no big deal. Do you uh…you want something? A drink or…”

“I don’t want to mess with your stock,” Derek said.

Stiles rolled his eyes and crouched down, popping back up with a deep amber colored bottle of beer. He cracked the top on the bar-mounted opener, then slid it across the smooth granite. Derek’s hand caught it at the last second, and he took a slow drink.

“Oh. It’s good,” he said, startled by the rich, heady flavor.

Stiles smirked. “I know. It’s not strong, but I loved the taste so much I convinced Erica to stock it. It doesn’t do well but…” He trailed off with a shrug.

Derek found himself smiling easily, slipping into the empty stool as Stiles turned and went back to work, stocking the little fridge with pint glasses for the next afternoon. “How is your night going?”

Stiles sighed. “It’s been…interesting. Long.” He turned and approached, reaching across Derek for the tray which held the olives, cherries, and limes. It was then Derek caught the familiar scent he had banished from the hotel, and he found himself curling his fingers into Stiles’ shirt and dragging him in, nose pressed to his shoulder.

“Uh. Personal space?” Stiles said a little uneasily.

Derek released him immediately and flushed. “I’m sorry. God I…you just…you smell like…”

Stiles’ cheeks went pink. “Your wife.”

“Ex,” Derek spat.

Stiles’ eyebrows went up. “Have you even served her with papers, Derek?”

Derek frowned. “What?”

“I’m just saying, it’s okay if you’re taking a minute to consider all sides. You have a baby coming—with a total stranger, which I get how fucked up that is. And you’ve just taken over the hotel, and adding a divorce on top of it.” He shrugged and looked almost sad. “She loves you.”

Derek felt his claws popping out, and he breathed through the itch to let his fangs extend. “Where was she?”

Stiles looked almost guilty. “She uh…she cornered me in the server’s station…”

Derek heard the growl from his chest before he was consciously aware of it, and he stopped himself, not wanting to see fear in Stiles’ eyes. “She was here dropping off paperwork,” Derek said, trying to sound as calm as possible. “She should not be speaking to you. I don’t want her anywhere near you. Stiles, you have no idea what she’s capable of.”

Stiles looked down at his hands which were twisted up together. “She seemed sincere…”

“She’s very good at what she does,” Derek told him. He didn’t stop himself from reaching over and placing his hand over Stiles’ in hopes of easing some of his tension. “She’s charming—it’s how she found her way into my bed, into my life. But she’s after money and power, and she sees the baby as a way to get that. I don’t want her near you.”

Stiles removed his hand carefully. “It’s not like I asked her to grab me,” he shot back.

Derek growled again. “She touched you?”

Stiles took a step back. “Yes. But I can handle myself, so put the claws away, man. I’m not afraid of her, okay? I just…she talked to me, and I kind of felt sorry for her. And obviously I’m not as good as a werewolf at sniffing out lies, but I’m getting two very different stories here and I don’t know who to believe.”

It was all the truth until the end, when Derek heard the tick in Stiles’ heartbeat. He did know who to believe, but Derek couldn’t be sure who it was.

“I have no rights to tell you not to speak with her,” Derek said after a moment, his tone even. “I won’t cross lines with you Stiles. But whatever she wants to tell you, the marriage is over. And I meant what I said, if that changes you wanting to let me be part of this baby’s life, I understand. I want what’s best for the child, even if that means me not part of this. I just…I just want you safe.”

Something softened in Stiles’ eyes, and after a moment, he sighed and nodded at the beer. “Drink up, man. That shit isn’t free.”

Derek stared, then huffed a laugh and took a long drink. “Who’s the boss here?”

“Well, maybe act like it,” Stiles said, playful suddenly.

Derek wanted to kiss him more than he had ever wanted to kiss someone in his life. He couldn’t help but remember how it felt to have Stiles’ mouth on his own, the vivid, almost painful memory of how soft, how sweet, how perfect it was. He closed his eyes slowly, then opened them. “I should go get back to work. I just…saw you, and I wanted to say hi.”

Stiles grinned. “Well. Hi.”

Derek finished the drink, then put the empty bottle in the trash and walked away. He was still furious at Jen, and furious at Laura, but being near his mate made everything seem just a little less overwhelming.

_ _ _ 

Stiles was giving the earl grey latte in his hands his full attention. It was the only way he wasn’t going to fall apart with the anxiety of knowing in just a few hours, he’d be seeing the…the thing, the bun in his oven, the milk in his shake. He was holding the paper cup so tight, the sides started to bow in.

“Well, hey stranger.” The voice spoke right against his ear, and Stiles yelped, turning on his heel so fast, a little bit of the scalding hot foam dripped from the top of the lid and spilled on his hand.

“Fuck. Danny! Heyyyy.” 

Danny swiped the cup out of Stiles’ hand with one of his own, and used his other to wipe the injured back of Stiles’ hand against the soft cotton t-shirt which was straining against his pecs. “So. You haven’t died and you actually are still in town,” he said as he dropped Stiles’ hand. When Stiles frowned, Danny said, “See, I was starting to think it was one or the other, since you kind of got sick all over my shoes, then promised to call me after I brought you soup, then ghosted on me.”

Stiles took his cup back gingerly, and offered a sheepish smile. “Yeah. Uh. I’m an asshole, I know. It’s just…I’ve had some stuff. You know.”

Danny’s eyebrows went up. “Right. Stuff. That stuff wouldn’t happen to be called Derek Hale, would it?”

Stiles’ cheeks went bright red. “Oh my god I…what would you…why would you even…”

“Come on,” Danny said, nudging him lightly. “I was there for the Great Kiss of Twenty-Thirteen. You pined forever, dude. Then he was at your house when I came by...”

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, then took a big sip of his drink just to have something to occupy his mouth so he wouldn’t blurt out anything stupid. Once he’d collected himself, he sighed and said, “It’s not about him.” Only a tiny lie. “Things got a little complicated after the night of our date.”

Danny folded his arms over his chest. “I like you, and whatever it is, I’m sure we can work through it. If you’re sick, or if there’s a personal issue. I don’t date a lot, but I really want to give this a try, Stiles. I think we could…”

“I’m pregnant,” Stiles blurted in a fit of panic.

Danny’s jaw shut with a loud click, and he took an involuntary step back.

Stiles couldn’t help a slightly bitter laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, see, that’s the reaction I figured you were going to have, and I guess I just wanted to delay having to see it…”

Danny swallowed thickly, then said, “Who was it? I thought you were a…I mean, you had told me you wanted to wait…”

Stiles’ eyes went wide. “Dude. No. I…I didn’t have sex.”

Danny snorted a laugh. “Okay, I might have fallen asleep in sex ed, but I didn’t need Finstock awkwardly passing out condoms and telling us to avoid pregnancy and death to tell me that babies come from unprotected sex, Stiles.”

Stiles clapped his free hand over his forehead and let out a frustrated groan. He understood why he was forced to explain the situation over and over, but he was getting really damn tired of it. Glancing around, he realized they had a small audience of eavesdroppers, so he shook his head and jutted his chin toward the parking lot where his jeep was parked. “Can we talk over here. I promise it’ll make a lot of sense in a minute.”

Danny became aware of the crowd too, then nodded, though he didn’t look happy about any of it. He followed close behind Stiles, and after a moment of hesitation, got into the passenger seat and gave him a flat look. “I’m not going to judge you, you know. I mean, I respected the virgin thing, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t respect you if you weren’t anymore.”

“That’s not…I’m still a virgin,” Stiles said, tone frustrated. “I went to get the birth control shot from that clinic you recommended. And uh…the doctor was apparently having a bad day. A very bad day.”

Danny’s hands suddenly balled up into fists. “Stiles,” he said, low and dangerous, “did he…did that doctor…”

Stiles realized what Danny was implying, and his eyes went wide. “Oh my god no. No. I wasn't assaulted! She got the appointments mixed up, and instead of the birth control shot, she fucking inseminated me with someone’s sperm.”

Danny stared at him, mouth slightly open, looking like he wasn’t sure he _could_ believe it. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Stiles said, miserable and tired. “This has literally consumed my life from the day after our failed date. I’m fucking pregnant, I’m still a damn virgin, and I don’t…I don’t know what I’m going to do. And I do like you, seriously, but this is all…a lot. You know?”

Danny hesitated, then said, “You’re keeping it?”

“I don’t,” Stiles said, then stopped, because he was about to say, I don’t know. But that wasn’t true, was it? He did know. He did know that he’d be giving this baby to Derek Hale—regardless of Derek’s situation—and then he’d be…what? Moving on with his life? “The birth father is keeping it,” he finally said.

“Then…” Danny hesitated, and carefully reached over, putting his hand on top of Stiles’. “Look, I know this situation is complicated, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested.”

Stiles had not expected that. At all. “Oh.”

Danny couldn’t help but laugh as he ran his thumb over Stiles’ knuckles. “You didn’t ask for any of this, and it’s not like I think this changes things, okay? I still like you, and I still want to give this a try. If you’re interested.”

Stiles bit the inside of his cheek. Something, deep inside him, was screaming _No! This is wrong!_ But he knew what that voice was. It was his internal moron who was still hung up on Derek Hale who was really only being nice to him because Stiles was carrying his child—the only viable biological sample Derek had left. If it hadn’t been for this, Stiles was sure Derek wouldn’t have given him a second glance.

“I’m not saying no, and I’m not saying yes,” Stiles said after a beat. “I think I need some time to process all this,” he waved his hand around his stomach.

“I understand,” Danny said. “Just…promise you won’t ghost again, okay? And if you need anything…”

Danny was the third person in so many days to offer help, and honestly it was starting to feel overwhelming. To go from a grad-school drop-out, nobody waiter to this… He wasn’t entirely sure how to deal.

But at the very least, he could promise to keep Danny in the loop. Because some day, Derek was going to take the child and move on with his life, and Stiles would be alone. And well…he could do worse than Danny Mahealani.

“I promise,” Stiles finally said.

Danny smiled, all dimples, then leaned over and kissed his cheek before opening the door to the jeep and hopping out. Stiles sat behind the wheel and stared in his mirror long after Danny was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note- I have done a fair amount of research on testicular cancer, and the after effects, and I probably won't mention it in the fic too much, but Derek does take testosterone to make up for the lost of hormones he had after having them removed. Even after removal of testicles, erection and orgasm is possible, just some times in need of interventions. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shooting for this fic to be done by Friday or Saturday, if I can keep up this motivation. I'll also be posting a teachers AU (the student body think Mr. Hale and Mr. Stilinski hate each other, but surprise, they're actually married!)-- as a long one-shot, at some point before September and the start of term, so keep an eye out for that. When that's done, I'm not sure I'll have much writing time, but I'll try to do a few things here and there :) Thanks for comments so far, I love them!

Not only was giving up his doctor’s office—a place he felt comfortable and secure—a pain in the ass, but the new place had the world’s worst parking. He ended up across the street, shoved between two massive trucks, and forced to cross a busy intersection to get there. Stiles was already technically late—a text from his dad letting him know he was in the waiting room, and from Derek to say that he was ten minutes ahead of Stiles.

The day was already so much. He had Danny’s offer ping-ponging around his head, and though he was tempted, he was having trouble detaching himself from this idea that there might be hope with Derek. At the very least, a chance to get to know each other. Derek was dead-set on divorce, and he was making an effort with Stiles. Even if Derek didn’t remember him—even if Derek thought Stiles was just some unlucky waiter, there was still a chance. And that sliver of a chance was ruining Stiles for anyone else—especially with a baby growing inside him.

With a sigh, he wrapped his red hoodie around himself tighter, managed to not-quite Frogger his way through the cars that didn’t want to stop, and made it to the building. He was just coming around the corner near the doors when he heard voices, and the lilt of the woman sounded familiar.

Stiles was never the type to let a curious moment pass him by, so he stopped and peered around. In the alley stood Jennifer Hale, and to no surprise of Stiles, Derek. They were speaking in low tones, so Stiles couldn’t understand them, but it didn’t take a genius to understand the tenderness there. He could only see Derek’s profile, so he couldn’t see his expression, but the way Jennifer was touching his face, and the way Derek wasn’t pushing her away…

His throat went tight, and he turned and hurried to the front doors, trying not to let himself sink into despair. It was his own fault, really. For getting his hopes up. For trying to convince Derek that Jennifer had been sincere. For maybe believing Derek when he insisted that whatever he had felt for Jennifer, it was gone now.

It worried him, though. Everything Derek had said about her—that was not the sort of person Stiles wanted raising his child. His stomach twisted with the thought, but he had to focus.

“Hey there, kiddo,” his dad said, putting down the magazine he’d been pretending to read.

Stiles sank into his chair. “Yo, pops.”

“You look like someone killed your cat,” Noah pointed out.

Stiles gave him a flat look. “I assume you mean metaphorical cat, since you never let me get a pet growing up.”

Noah rolled his eyes. “I am not rehashing this with you. And I am pragmatic enough not to point out that once you turned eighteen, you didn’t get yourself a pet, so somewhere in there means I was right.”

Stiles swallowed thickly. “Does that apply to being a parent?”

Noah looked stunned at the question. “Stiles,” he whispered.

“I just mean obviously I didn’t think I’d be good at taking care of a cat. Hell, I couldn’t even manage to keep that stupid aloe plant Scott gave me, and that thing required watering like once a year.”

“Stiles,” his dad said, pained, “aloe plants need water more than once a year.”

“I know that,” Stiles groaned. “I was exaggerating to make my point that if I can’t even keep a succulent plant alive, how the hell could I even consider a baby.”

Noah pursed his lips, then said, “Trust me when I tell you a baby is different.”

Stiles didn’t have time to argue, because the door swung open and Derek walked in. Stiles could barely hide his relief when he realized Derek was alone, and there was something warm in his belly when he realized Derek didn’t look overly happy.

His face softened though, when he locked eyes on Stiles, and his posture was calm and relaxed as he took his seat. “Sorry I’m late.”

Stiles bit back his automatic retort which would have pointed out that Stiles knew Derek was there first—had seen him in the alley. But he didn’t want to seem like a creep, so he just shrugged. “No worries. We still have a few minutes.”

His leg started to jump, and he picked at his nails until the nurse finally came out and called him back.

He went through the standard being weighed, having his blood pressure measured, the offer of answering any questions. This time though, he was led into a small room with an exam table and several machines. He had never seen one before, but he assumed the little cart with the screen attached would be the sonogram, and his heart started racing.

He startled when a warm hand took his, and he looked up to see Derek watching him, his eyes soft, his mouth in a gentle frown. “It won’t hurt,” he told Stiles.

Stiles huffed. “Yeah I…know that. I mean. I think I know that.”

The nurse smiled as she turned the machine on. “The doctor will be in shortly, okay?”

Stiles swallowed, then laid back against the flat, paper-covered pillow, and shut his eyes. He was profoundly aware that Derek still had his hand. “Dude, I promise I’m okay.”

Derek huffed. “Seriously, Stiles?”

Stiles sighed and squeezed Derek’s fingers. “I’d be sorry but I’m not, okay? Because I’m freaking out a little. I know it’s not going to hurt, it just…feels very real.”

After a moment of silence, Derek said quietly, “Yeah, I know what you mean.” His thumb dragged across Stiles’ knuckles, much the way Danny’s had, but the comfort in Derek’s gesture was overwhelming. Stiles felt his eyes get hot, and he told himself it was just hormones.

There was knock on the door shortly after, and the doctor came in. He was a tall, skinny guy with a shock of white hair—thick and styled with too much gel. But he’d been nice the first time Stiles had seen him, and he had the same calmness about him now.

“How are we feeling?” he asked.

“Apart from my heart trying to beat out of my chest?” Stiles asked, and Derek’s thumb moved to rub circles on the inside of his wrist.

The doctor gave them both a look. “Is this the other father?”

Stiles sighed. “Yep. This is Derek Hale.”

The doctor’s eyebrows rose, likely reacting to hearing the Hale name. Stiles could only imagine his situation was gossip in their little world of medical professionals, but his doctor was kind enough not to say anything about it.

“Alright, so you’ll need to unbutton your jeans and pull your underwear down just slightly, okay?”

Stiles nodded and finally released his hand from Derek’s, doing what he was asked. The doctor tucked a sheet of thin paper into the band of his boxers, then squirted gel over his stomach. It was cold, but the heat of his skin warmed it almost instantly so when the doctor pushed the round wand into it, it felt almost hot.

“This shouldn’t take me long. We have you at what, seven weeks?” he asked.

Stiles nodded. He knew the moment of conception, really. There was no guessing in his case. “And three days.”

The doctor smiled, and Stiles looked away from the screen, only to find himself staring at Derek’s face. Derek’s eyes were glued to the blob on the screen, his eyes wide and wondering. Stiles felt something stirring in him, wanting, almost desperate. Then the doctor clicked a button and there was a rapid, unfamiliar noise coming out of the speaker.

Derek gasped and looked down.

“Is that,” Stiles began.

“It’s early to hear the heartbeat,” the doctor said slowly, “but…you’re a werewolf, right?”

Derek nodded, looking unable to speak.

“Then that’s right on target.” The doctor moved the wand, and Stiles found himself looking over at the image. It was difficult to make out anything, really. The screen was dark, and fuzzy, but in the haze of black, there was a small thing shaped like a kidney bean, a little jumpy. “Active little one,” the doctor said fondly.

Stiles’ voice was thick and wavering when he spoke. “Obviously mine, then.”

Derek’s hand blindly groped for his, their fingers tangled together, and neither of them could look away. “It’s a baby,” Derek whispered.

“Yup.” Stiles’ voice cracked at the end of the word, and he cleared his throat but said nothing more. Derek wasn’t wrong. It was a baby. It was their baby. It was _his_ baby. Stiles felt panic rushing through him then. Because he knew in that moment, he was seeing his child, and he wasn’t entirely sure he’d ever be able to let go.

_ _ _ 

Parting from Stiles was like peeling superglue off arm hair. Painful, and damn near impossible. But Derek did it, clutching the fuzzy image printed from the sonogram machine in his hand. He was trembling all over as he started his car, but he forced himself to drive. He hit the road, a little too fast, but made it past the town center, in the opposite direction of where Stiles was going. He passed the preserve, and the hotel, and soon found himself in the middle of nowhere on a black stretch of highway.

Derek pulled over eventually, and after parking the car, he leaned his head back in the seat and let his emotions wash over him. The day had been wholly overwhelming. He’d been early, and just before he’d walked inside, Jennifer had appeared.

He crowded her into the alley so she wouldn’t have access to Stiles, and he’d endured more of her lies—all of them visible through the ticks in her heartbeat.

Her hand had touched his cheek where he’d once loved it most, but now it felt like leaden weight. “I miss you, I miss us. I know we can get past this, Derek. I can’t lose you.”

He’d closed his eyes and kept his posture easy and light to keep from wolfing out right there, and the moment he had control, he grasped her wrist in an iron hold. “If you don’t stay away from me, and from my child, I will personally see you thrown out of this state. And you know I can do it.”

She ripped her hand away. “You are not as powerful as you think you are, Derek.”

He laughed at her. “I know what Duke is telling you, what he’s promising you. But you know as well as I do what he does to humans the moment they’re no longer useful. I understand your desperation, but try another tactic. You always forget I can hear your lies.”

With that, he turned and went inside. He had known Stiles was there, had smelled him on the air. He’d almost panicked, afraid Stiles would see him, but when he’d come around the corner, Stiles was already inside talking to his dad.

The appointment had been another world—just him and Stiles together, hands pressed palm-to-palm, watching their child on the screen, hearing the rushing heartbeat proving it was alive, that it was there. Derek was still terrified that something would go wrong, and his instinct to protect was starting to overwhelm his common sense.

He knew he’d have to talk to Stiles eventually, see about moving him closer until the birth. Derek wasn’t sure the instinct to protect Stiles would ever go away, but he had to accept what he was given. Derek could smell the other man all over Stiles—over his hands, over his face. He rubbed his thumb over all the places the other man had touched, but it hadn’t been enough to erase his presence.

All the same, Derek had no rights to say anything. Five years ago, he’d fucked it up, and he had no right to ask for more now.

He startled when his phone rang, and sighed to see his mother’s name on the screen. All the same, when his Alpha called, he answered. “Yes, mother?”

“I trust the appointment went well? Boyd said he saw your car driving past the hotel, so I wanted to check in.”

Derek rubbed at his forehead. “It was fine. The baby’s developing well, and Stiles is in perfect health.”

“That’s good to hear. And I trust we can have a discussion about the future of this child soon?” she pressed.

Derek wanted to curl around his mate and his child, and protect them from outside influence—even if that influence was his own mother and Alpha. Not because he didn’t trust her, but because he couldn’t risk anything coming near them, and he’d already seen his own family fracture and fall apart.

Yet, he would need her help. Inevitably when Stiles walked away, Derek would need the support. “I would like to speak with him first, but yes.”

“Okay. And Derek, if you need anything…” Her voice was soft, and he felt himself react to it.

“I know. Thank you, mom.”

“I’ll see you for dinner.” It wasn’t an invitation, but an order. The line went dead, and Derek let his phone fall to the seat of the car, right next to the photo of his child. He closed his eyes again, and waited for the chaos to pass.

_ _ _ 

Stiles pressed the bottom of his plastic milkshake cup to his forehead, then dragged it down and took a huge gulp, ignoring the instant ice cream headache. He determinedly looked anywhere but at Scott who was sitting in his computer chair, spinning in a circle. It had taken Stiles three months of processing, of ignoring what he wanted, of keeping his emotions to himself before he finally confessed to Scott how he was really feeling. He told him about the moments before the ultrasound, how it felt to have Derek with him in there, and how it felt to see Jennifer and Derek together at the hotel in the moments they were in public.

“Well dude,” Scott started.

“Just…not right now, man. I realize I’m a giant moron for this crush, and like…I’m the one who basically encouraged him and Jennifer to make amends.” He took another drink, then groaned and pressed his hand to his full belly which at five months was finally starting to round out.

Scott sighed. “I don’t blame you for your feelings being complicated, Stiles. You’re pregnant with his child, you’ve had a crush on him for years, and he’s been…you know…attentive and everything lately.”

Which was entirely true. Derek texted once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once at night to see if Stiles needed anything. He was also developing a habit of appearing in surreptitious places around the hotel, watching quietly before retreating. He was good about keeping private and never intruding on Stiles’ work space, but Stiles did take notice that his side-work was a lot easier, and no more heavy lifting.

He wanted to be salty about it, but it was hard not to want to reap the benefits of being knocked up by the boss. As accidental as it was.

“It just sucks,” he groaned, and it did. They hadn’t talked much in the weeks after the ultrasound, and most of the time Derek was alone. But he’d seen Jennifer a handful of times now, and she was always casting him a soft smile and a short wave, a look like they were on the same side.

Stiles wanted to dive across the lobby tables and choke her out, but he figured that was hormones talking. All the same, even thinking of it was getting him all worked up. “I need to go for a walk or something. I have my next ultrasound to find out the whole gender thing in like a manner of hours, and Derek wants to come, and Danny keeps texting me…” He sighed.

“What are you going to do about Danny anyway?” Scott asked as he stood up to follow Stiles out.

Stiles rubbed at his temple. “Nothing. At least, not until my cinnamon bun is fully baked and frosted.”

“Your baby food metaphors are super weird, man,” Scott said. He flopped down on the couch, and Stiles was grateful that his friend was leaving him to his walk all on his own. “Call me if you need anything, okay? If you get tired and want a ride?”

“Just take my jeep. My pregnant ass is not getting on your bike. And if Derek caught wind of that anyway, he’d probably try to kill you.” And Stiles was not lying. Erica had asked Stiles to stand on a table to hang a bit of string lights over the cabana, and it was the only time Derek had lost his entire shit in public.

Stiles had to drag him into the server alley to calm him down, and then Erica had to sign a form that she wouldn’t allow Stiles to engage in dangerous tasks for the next forever.

It was ridiculous and Stiles should be mad, but instead he just felt safe and protected.

Grabbing his phone, he sighed and headed out down the street, toward the city center.

The walk was short, and Stiles eventually ended up at the little candy shop where he stocked up a bag of liquorice and banana flavored taffy—a strange craving, but it could be worse, he reckoned. He took that with him to the park, then settled on a bench which gave him full view of the little cafes and restaurants lining the streets.

It was soothing—sitting there to people-watch late in the evening. It was like white noise, listening to snatches of conversations, and watch people’s body language and hand gestures as they went about their lives. He liked to imagine that some of them had just as complicated lives as his own, though he doubted anyone had been in a situation as unique as his own.

As he chewed on a banana taffy, he felt a little tap tap on the side of his ribs. He thought it was gas, only for a second, but then it happened again and he realized what it was. The baby. A little foot, or elbow maybe, was tapping against the swell of his belly. His eyes filled with tears, and he found himself wrecked a little that he was alone for it, that he couldn’t just call up Derek.

He realized then that he probably could, but just as he was reaching for his phone, he spotted a familiar face across the street. Jennifer. She was walking with a man Stiles had seen at a few of the Hale parties—a short man with wispy light hair and dark round glasses, carrying a white cane. The blind wolf. Deucalion.

From everything Stiles had heard about him through Derek, he was someone to fear. Stiles felt a little bit of terror, suddenly, and found himself texting Scott. **At the park, need a ride asap.**

The response was only a second later. _OMW_

Stiles settled back with a sigh, convinced he was unnoticed. He watched as Jennifer and Duke sat at a table, and the way he held her hand, and the way he leaned across and kissed her softly. Something angry and betrayed on Derek’s behalf flared up in his belly. He and Derek never talked about Jennifer, or the divorce. But with Jennifer always at the hotel, Stiles could only assume Derek was trying with her.

And this? This was how she was repaying him.

Stiles stood the moment his jeep appeared, and just as he reached for the door handle, Duke’s head lifted. Though he was blind, Stiles got the distinct impression that the man was looking right at him. Which was ridiculous. He shook his head and got in the Jeep, doing up his buckle.

“Everything okay?” Scott asked.

Stiles cast one look back at the couple who seemed oblivious to his presence, but he still felt uneasy. “Yeah,” he lied. “I think everything’s fine.”

_ _ _ 

Stiles hovered at Derek’s office door, his feet shuffling his weight from one to the other. He’d raised his hand and dropped it at least half a dozen times, trying to find the courage to tell Derek what he’d seen. They were going to the doctor’s together, but that was hours away, and Stiles wasn’t sure he could sit with knowing Jennifer was sneaking around behind Derek’s back when Derek was trying to make it work.

As much as he wanted Derek, he more wanted Derek to be happy.

A moment later, the door swung open, and Stiles stumbled back. Derek’s hand caught him before he fell, and he looked up into the pinched, annoyed face of his baby’s father.

“Uh,” Stiles said.

“You do realize I’m a werewolf, right? I could hear you out here the entire time.” Derek asked, letting him go gently and stepping back into his office.

Stiles flushed. “Right. Uh.”

Rolling his eyes, Derek gestured to the chair in front of his desk, then resumed his seat, hands folded as he watched Stiles close the door and walk over. “I wasn’t sure you were actually going to knock.”

“I was!” Stiles defended as he sat. “I just…this isn’t exactly easy, you know.”

Derek’s eyes widened slightly, and his gaze flickered down to the swell of Stiles’ belly. “Is everything…”

“It isn’t the baby,” Stiles said, but right then, the little bun gave a sharp, tiny kick, and Stiles let out a small gasp.

Derek was on his feet, moving to Stiles’ side with inhuman speed, his hand reaching out for Stiles shoulder. “What is it? Do we need to call an ambulance? I could probably get you to the ER faster in the Camaro if…”

“I’m fine,” Stiles said with a huff, prying Derek’s hand off his shoulder. “The baby’s just kicking.”

Derek went pale suddenly, flexing his hand in Stiles’ hold. “It…I…it’s doing that already?”

Stiles softened, and carefully tugged until Derek was kneeling. Then he pressed Derek’s palm to the side of his belly and waited. There was nothing for a long while. Then, as though attracted to the werewolf heat of Derek’s hand, the little thing gave a series of small taps against Stiles’ skin.

Derek made a small noise of surprise. “Oh. I felt that!”

Unable to help his laugh, Stiles shook his head. “Yeah, man. All night, actually.”

Derek looked up at Stiles. “You should have called.” His tone wasn’t accusing, only full of wonder, but that didn’t stop the guilt.

“I didn’t want to disturb you. It was late,” Stiles said, only a half truth. The rest was him not knowing how to tell Derek what he’d seen.

Shaking his head, Derek rubbed his hand along the side of Stiles’ stomach. “I don’t care if it’s four am. I want to share this stuff with you.”

Stiles swallowed thickly, then nodded. “Yeah.”

“I know this isn’t traditional, and our lives are complicated.” Derek gave a frustrated huff. “More than complicated. There are days when I feel like if one more thing goes wrong, I’m going to lose my mind.” He pressed a little harder against Stiles’ side, and the baby kicked back, making his lips soften and turn up at the corners. “But at least there’s this, you know?”

Flooded with guilt and apprehension, Stiles could only nod. He understood what Derek was saying—understood the fear of things getting worse. And it was in that moment he decided to just let him have this. To just let Derek enjoy this moment without destroying what fragile peace he’d made in his life. And maybe he was wrong. Maybe Jennifer had been ending an affair, or trying to broker a business deal. Without werewolf hearing, Stiles hadn’t been able to listen in, and he was going on assumption only.

And looking at Derek’s face now, he realized he couldn’t do that to him, he couldn’t rock his world any more than he already had.

“Is this what you came in here for?”

Stiles looked at him, and tried his damndest to keep his heart steady as he said, “Yeah. Yeah, this is what I wanted to show you.”

Derek stared for a long minute, then looked back down at his hand over Stiles’ stomach and smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff to make up for all the miscommunication and slow burn.

“Alright,” the doctor said, giving them both a gentle smile. Derek’s hand was firmly ensconced in Stiles’, and he found himself alternately focusing on the sound of Stiles’ heartbeat and the baby’s, both of them almost in competition for speed. “Do you want to know the sex?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

Derek, and then Stiles. The only difference was, Derek could hear the uptick in Stiles’ heart, turning that no into an obvious lie. The pair looked at each other, and Derek tried to understand.

“Sorry,” he eventually conceded. “I…I can be surprised.”

“No,” Stiles said, gripping his fingers. 

His eyes flickered back to the screen where the blob was no longer a little bean, but a fully-formed baby, just weeks away from being viable, even if Stiles went into labor this early. It was making Derek’s desire to protect both child and mate go into overdrive, and he was having to consciously keep himself from seeking Stiles out at every opportunity. 

“I don’t mind waiting,” Derek assured him gently.

Stiles huffed, then looked back at the doctor. “Can you write it down? So uh…so he can know, and then I won’t? But then if I change my mind…”

“Of course,” the doctor said. “Everything else looks wonderful. You’re progressing along as planned. You should expect to deliver somewhere around the eighth month mark, maybe a little later since you’re human, but werewolf pregnancies rarely go a full forty weeks.”

Stiles licked his lips, Derek tracking the motion with keen eyes. “Okay. We should talk birth plans soon then?”

The doctor nodded. “At your next visit, we can discuss that, and the child birthing class should you want to attend. That actually starts next week. I can have Janice get you the pamphlet.”

With that, the doctor left the room, and Derek carefully extracted his hand as Stiles pushed himself up and poked at the bits of goo the doctor hadn’t successfully removed.

“I’m sorry. I should have asked,” Derek told him after an awkward silence.

Stiles shook his head, and Derek could smell something on him—apprehension, and something like sadness. He itched to reach out, to soothe it, but he didn’t let himself. “You have every right to want to know. I just…” He let out a shaking breath. “It feels like it might be too much. Too real.”

Derek frowned. “It is real, Stiles.”

“For you,” Stiles pointed out. He hopped off the table and walked to the door. “It’s real for you, because after all this, you get the baby, and I…”

“Get your life back?” Derek offered, though saying it hurt more than carving himself open.

Stiles’ eyes met his, and Derek heard yet another lie when he said, “Yeah. My life back.”

He was gone after that, and Derek didn’t go after him. He was stopped a few minutes later by the harried looking nurse who was holding a couple of parenting class pamphlets, and a sealed envelope.

“Dr. Browne said that you wanted information on the birthing class, and also the baby’s sex.”

Derek took both with trembling hands, and thanked her before hurrying out. Stiles’ jeep was long gone, so Derek didn’t rush to his car. The envelope felt like a weight in his hands, and he understood in a way what Stiles was saying. It made the baby suddenly feel like a person. It was almost viable—which means it would have a name soon, and then it would be here, and he would be able to hold them and watch them grow…

And maybe nothing would turn out to be what he expected. There was no telling who this child would grow up to be, but what mattered was it had parents who would love it beyond all measure. Or at least one parent. Stiles was still insisting that Derek was taking over, but the more time passed, the more Derek could sense Stiles wanting more.

Every time he got close to bringing it up, however, Stiles shut down and left Derek alone. He didn’t want to push, so he didn’t. He climbed into his car, and tucked the envelope into the pocket of his leather jacket, and headed for the hotel.

_ _ _ 

“I’m having a baby.” He felt like an idiot for saying it aloud the way he had, but it was time to acknowledge it.

His dad, who had a fork full of salad halfway to his mouth, blinked at him. “Yes, son. I can say I’ve been aware of that for a few months now.”

Stiles swallowed thickly, pushing his untouched plate away from him. “No, dad. I mean…I mean. I’m having a baby. It’s not just some cinnamon bun or a milkshake or…or a thing. It’s a baby. It’s mine.”

“Stiles,” his dad said softly, setting his fork down. “What are you trying to say?”

Stiles covered his face and let out a shaking breath. “I’m saying that today Derek held my hand and we got to see the baby on the screen and it looked like a real baby. And somewhere out there right now Derek has an envelope with the baby’s sex on it, and it’s…it’s real. And I want it.”

He wasn’t sure what reaction to expect from his dad, but the face of quiet resignation wasn’t it. Noah folded his hands next to his plate and gave Stiles a serious look. “Son, I’m going to support you whatever you choose, but I don’t think I’m the man you should be having this conversation with. Especially since the one you should be talking to is under a very different impression.”

“I know,” Stiles said miserably.

“Are you saying you want sole custody? That you don’t want Derek and his wife…”

“No,” Stiles blurted, then calmed down. “God. God, no. That’s not…this is his child too, and I’m not saying that I want to take that away from him.” Stiles pressed his hand to where the little bun was tapping lightly against his ribs. That much wasn’t a lie. But the idea of Derek and Jennifer getting to play happy little family while Stiles was out there on his own, his child not knowing who he is, or seeing him as some womb who brought him into the world… “I just don’t think I can give the baby away and let that be it.”

“Then you need to talk to him. He’s been very attentive, Stiles. I don’t think he wants to shut you out.”

“What if he’s only been attentive because he knows taking care of me is taking care of his child?” Stiles asked quietly.

Noah sighed. “Listen, son. I don’t like to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, so I’ve kept pretty quiet about this whole mess. But I can tell you right now that man—whatever situation he may or may not have going on with that woman—certainly doesn’t look at you like you’re an incubator.”

Stiles’ face went flush-warm, and he couldn’t meet his dad’s eyes. “That’s…okay. Alright. So I should talk to him.”

“The sooner the better, if that doctor was telling the truth and that baby is coming sooner than a full human child would be.”

Stiles didn’t look up as he reached into his pocket, then thumbed the screen open and sent a text.

**It’s Stiles. Is there any way we can meet tonight? I have something I need to talk to you about and it probably shouldn’t wait.**

Derek’s reply took only seconds. 

_I can be there in half an hour._

Stiles let out another shaky breath, then set his phone on the table. “Well. I guess this is it. And if he rips my throat out with his teeth, it’s been nice knowing you.”

Noah just rolled his eyes and went back to his grilled chicken salad.

_ _ _ 

By the time Derek pulled up to the house, Stiles was on the porch swing with a mug of tea between his hands. He used his feet to stop the motion, and offered Derek a tense smile as he walked up the steps and approached.

“Hey,” Stiles said, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

Derek hesitated. “Can I…”

“Yeah. Yes, of course.” He shifted over, then felt like an idiot as he patted the seat next to him. He relaxed a little though when Derek huffed a small laugh and eased down onto the seat. It creaked, shuddering a bit, but held their weight. “Thanks for coming over right now. I feel like…somehow I have the guts to talk to you, but if I waited any longer…”

“Not to sound like an ass,” Derek said, his voice tight, “but if you could get it over with…”

Stiles took a breath, and then just unleashed. “I know I promised that you’d have this baby, and you and your wife would be a happy family—and I want that. I still want that. But I heard the heartbeat, and I can feel the baby kicking and it’s part of me, and it has a biological sex, and it’s growing inside of me, and I’m going to have to give birth and maybe this makes me a coward or a fool, but I don’t think I can just give the baby up and never see it again so if you and Jennifer could just let me be part of this…”

“Stiles,” Derek said firmly, the moment he got the chance.

Stiles’ jaw clacked shut, and then he cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he muttered.

Derek dragged a hand down his face. “I…there’s so much to say.”

“I know. My mouth uh…is as much of a dipshit as I am,” Stiles offered with a self-deprecating smile.

Derek shook his head, then said, “I’m not sure what keeps giving you the impression that Jennifer and I are married. We’re not. The divorce went through two weeks ago.”

Stiles blinked at him. “But I saw you two in the alley the day of my first sonogram. You were reconciling! She was touching your face. And…and she’s always at the hotel.”

Derek looked pained. “She was trying to convince me that staying married wasn’t all about money and stock in the company. But I’m not ever going to fall for that again. It’s over.”

“So…so why is she…”

Derek’s face went dark. “She’s working for Deucalion, and as much as I want to cut him out, he’s an investor. Minority, but she’s been assigned work during board meetings. Trust me, I only speak with her when it’s absolutely necessary, and only ever business.”

Stiles swallowed thickly. “Oh. Well. Okay.”

“And I…” Derek hesitated, then said, “I never wanted you to just give the baby to me and go, Stiles. When I told you I wanted to help you through this, it was for you, not just for the baby. You’re a part of this as much as I am, and I’m willing to raise the baby on my own, but that isn’t what I want.”

“What do you want?” Stiles asked, his voice small, too afraid to hope.

Derek reached across the distance between them, and let his hand fall over Stiles’. “Five years ago, you pulled me in out of the rain. You let me wear your hoodie, and you brought me something to drink, and you talked to me for hours. And then I kissed you, and I had never felt so complete in my entire life.”

Stiles felt like he’d been hit over the head with a ten ton sack of bricks. “But you…I gave you my number. You never called!”

Derek hung his head. “I was a moron back then, Stiles. I was still reeling from Paige dying, and then there you were, and you were everything I wanted. Kate showed up days later, before I could get my head on straight, and she manipulated me, and by the time I was out from under her claws, I knew I had already lost you. You’d disappeared, and I…I was a coward. I ran.”

Stiles turned his hand palm-up, pressing it to Derek’s, feeling the warmth, the slow, gentle pulse against his own. “You didn’t lose me, you know. I mean, I went off to college, and I was trying to forget you, because I thought you were just some rich asshole getting his rocks off with the serving staff until someone better, and prettier, and…not me came along.”

Derek closed his eyes and let out a slow breath through his nose. When he opened them, he reached up with his free hand and traced Stiles’ jaw with the tips of his fingers. “I’m sorry I ever let you think that, for even a second. It’s always been you. You’re my…” Then he stopped.

“Your what?” Stiles pressed.

Derek’s lips thinned. “Can we leave it at this for now? Because this situation is already so much, and I don’t want you to feel like there’s any more pressure on you to be anything else.”

It stung, but Stiles also knew it was the smart, mature decision.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t plan to date the shit out of you in the meantime,” Derek finished, and Stiles’ eyes went wide. Derek’s smile became a smirk, and he lifted Stiles’ hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. “If you’ll let me.”

“Uh. Hell yeah, dude.”

Derek scowled.

“I’m not even sorry,” Stiles said, and yanked on Derek’s hand until they were forehead to forehead. Derek’s hand cupped Stiles’ cheek, thumb gently running along his jaw. 

“I wouldn’t want you to be. You’ve been perfect through all this. I just can’t believe you want me.”

Stiles laughed quietly and nuzzled his nose alongside Derek’s. “You have no idea.”

_ _ _ 

He’d given up on actual work an hour into his day when he realized he was spending more time on restaurant and movie reservations than anything else. His wrist was a little stiff from clicking around on the dozen tabs he had open with “Things to do in Beacon Hills” in his search bar, but he wanted to make this perfect. Derek’s head lifted and he was sniffing the air before he realized what he was doing. He just had time to register the scent when there was a knock at the door.

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he rose, and took long strides to open the door. Stiles was there—in uniform, looking tired, but his mouth was stretched in a lazy grin. He held up two plates that smelled vaguely of the employee breakroom.

“It’s not five star gourmet—heck it’s not even room service you guys always order up here, but I was craving grilled turkey and cheese, and I thought you might uh…be hungry? I have an hour for lunch,” he babbled.

Derek tamped down on a huge grin, settling for a little smirk as he ushered Stiles in with a hand at the small of his back. The door shut with a click, and as an afterthought—and a desire to remain private for this hour—he flicked the lock.

He urged Stiles over to the couch instead of the desk, and took the offered plate. “Thanks. I was starving, actually.”

Stiles looked happy about his decision, even as he immediately dug into the food. “I had an ulterior motive with the food,” he confessed through a mouthful of bread.

Derek’s eyebrows raised. “You don’t have to ply me with grilled cheese to get me to kiss you, Stiles.”

His words had the intended effect. Stiles’ face burst into a blush, making the dark moles light up against them. Looking away, Stiles huffed. “That’s not what I…I mean okay, yeah. I like kisses and we haven’t exactly gotten to that part yet. But no I um. I wanted to know if you looked in the envelope.”

Derek blinked, unsure what Stiles meant, but only for a second. “Oh. No, not yet.” In truth, Derek had stared at the envelope the day he brought it home, but found he didn’t want to do it without Stiles. So he’d tucked it back into his work desk, where it was sitting now in the top drawer.

Stiles looked surprised. “I thought you wanted to know.”

“I did,” Derek said. He put his plate down and got up to his mini fridge for a couple bottles of water. “I do,” he added. “But it was more important that I was on the same page as you.”

Stiles looked down at the nearly finished sandwich on his lap, then took the water Derek offered. He fiddled with the label, and Derek could hear the way his heart picked up speed. “Can we look together?”

Derek tried to hold together his excitement as he nodded and walked to the desk. “You know I’ll be happy whatever this says, right?”

Stiles laughed quietly. “Yeah, me too. I mean, it’s not like that’s a guarantee anyway. Our kid could turn out to be anything. I’m just going to be happy to be their dad.”

Derek had to take a moment to stay calm, his wolf wanting to rise to the surface, to curl around Stiles and nuzzle and scent him, praise him for being the perfect mate. But this was not the time. Not yet. He took the envelope with trembling fingers, then sat down next to Stiles and moved their plates out of the way.

“You should do it,” he said.

Stiles nodded and used the edge of his nail to pick at the corner. “It’ll be really real after this.”

Derek reached over, laying a warm hand over Stiles’ belly, smiling when he was rewarded with a soft kick. “It’s already real. And I’m here, and we’re good. And we’re doing this together.”

Stiles nodded, then tore at the envelope. The paper was small, a torn bit of printer paper with handwritten pen on the inside.

_Sex: Female_

Stiles looked up at Derek with a grin. “So…”

“Yep,” Derek said, and he felt something warm in him. What he’d said before was true—it was already real, and it was even better now that Stiles was in this with him, and whatever the future held, there was something like family forming between them. But this was just icing on that cake. 

“Any name ideas?” Stiles asked softly as he leaned into Derek.

Derek adjusted his arm so it was around Stiles’ back, his hand pressed to the side of Stiles’ belly where their baby was kicking gently. “No. I was…I think too overwhelmed to give it much thought.”

Stiles closed his eyes and breathed out. “My mom’s name was Claudia, and I’ve always liked that, but I’ve also been kind of afraid to burden my kid with something born out of grief. And it’s not like I can ask her if she minds yet.”

Derek laughed quietly and pressed closed lips to Stiles’ temple. “Maybe a middle name?” An idea struck him then, and he pulled back slightly, taking Stiles’ hands in his. “Go on a date with me.”

Stiles blinked in surprise, even if his mouth was smiling. “You’ve already knocked me up, man. Isn’t a date going backward?”

“I promised you I was going to date the hell out of you, and I meant it,” Derek said. “I have a lot to make up for, and I have an idea.”

Stiles’ lips twitched like he was holding back an even bigger grin. “Alright. Where to?”

“Dinner. Maybe a walk? A trip to the bookstore for some baby name books?” Derek said, a little sly as he watched Stiles’ cheeks go pink again.

Stiles huffed as he tugged on Derek’s hands lightly. “You know they have the internet for that now.”

“So call me traditional,” Derek said, then lifted Stiles’ hands to his lips and peppered them with kisses. “Like I said, a lot to make up for.”

Stiles looked like he wanted to argue, but after a moment, he just said, “Okay. I would love that.” And this time, when Derek tuned into his heart, there wasn’t even the barest hint of a lie.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff, relationship talks, etc. I added 2 extra chapters because there are things that need to wrap up and I don't think I can do that by chapter 12.
> 
> Warnings: mild panic attack, vaguely described.

“Dude, so you have a date. Big fucking deal. You’re already pregnant with his baby.”

Stiles glowered at his friend, and felt a surge of affection for Kira when she smacked Scott on the arm. “It’s not like he got pregnant the old fashioned way, Scott. And this is a big deal. Stiles has been pining for a hundred years.”

“Thanks for not making me feel like an even bigger pathetic loser,” Stiles muttered.

Kira turned sad eyes on him. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way, Stiles. Just…you’ve been in love with Derek forever, and you’re finally getting your chance. I’m happy for you.”

Stiles let out a shuddering breath, then turned to stare at himself in the mirror. He felt a little bit like a tool, getting ready in the employee locker room, but he didn’t want to drive all the way home, then talk himself out of the date. It was hard though—normally he’d be wearing tight jeans and a nice shirt, and doing his best to look hot, but that wasn’t so easy with a bulging belly and maternity jeans.

He shoved his thumb into the elastic waistband and tugged on it. “God, this is the least sexy thing I could possibly be wearing. I look like a…”

“Don’t even,” Scott said. “Derek’s been watching you get bigger and he likes it. He likes you, man. I mean, I still think this whole thing is stupid, and you two should just get married and put us all out of our misery, but you could show up in a potato sack and he’d still want to bone you.”

Stiles flushed, but grinned at his best friend. “This is why you’re my platonic soulmate, Scotty.” He rubbed a little bit of product into his hand, then artfully tousled his hair. “Well…” His phone began to buzz, and he saw Derek’s name on the screen with a text preview reading, **Waiting**

“Loquacious,” Kira said dryly.

Stiles snorted. It was true, Derek wasn’t the most talkative person in the world, but he spoke when it mattered, and he definitely opened up to Stiles more than most. “It works for us, since I never shut up.” He grabbed his wallet, phone, and keys, then headed for the door. “Wish me luck.”

“Happy possible orgasm day!” Scott called, then yelped as Kira smacked him again.

Stiles had a smile on his face as he walked through the employee alley, and then out the side door into the lobby. It was somewhat crowded, a couple of events going on, so he was able to blend into the crowd enough as he made his way to the front doors.

He was coming around a pillar when he collided with a body, and came to a halt. Though he’d only met her the one time, Stiles would never forget Laura Hale’s face.

“Sorry,” she said, then her eyes widened as she realized who he was. “I…sorry.” Her voice fell to a near whisper.

Stiles’ throat closed. He’d wondered if he’d ever run into her during the months of his pregnancy. She was Talia Hale’s daughter, after all, so of course she would be here. But he’d voiced his worry to Derek once who vowed Stiles would never have to be around her. Not until he was ready. Which could be never.

Only now, here he was. His brain shorted out, and he had no idea what to say, and it wasn’t until warm arms closed around his biceps that he was able to focus again.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Derek growled, holding Stiles tight.

Laura’s face was mottled pink. “Mom called. She asked me…I didn’t mean to…”

Derek tugged at Stiles until his feet started working again, and before he knew it, he was being ushered into the passenger seat of Derek’s Camaro, and it was roaring to life. Neither of them said a word until they were on the main road, and then Derek hit the wheel with the palm of his hand with a gruff, “Fuck. I’m sorry.”

Stiles winced, but shook his head. “It’s okay…”

“It isn’t. I wanted this to go right,” Derek insisted.

In spite of the fact that he was still shaken, Stiles reached over and let his hand rest in the crook of Derek’s neck. “It is going right. I knew you couldn’t promise to keep me from ever seeing her again, even if you wanted to. And you got me out of there.” Stiles let out a slow breath, then said, “Besides, I don’t…I don’t even know that I’m angry anymore.”

Derek glanced over at him, blinking in surprise. “You’re not serious.”

Stiles shrugged. “She made a terrible mistake, but it _was_ a _mistake_. I like to think if I ever fuck up—even if it’s colossal—I’d have the chance to be forgiven.”

Derek made a considering noise, and his hands tightened on the wheel. “If she hadn’t inseminated you, Stiles, it would have been Jennifer. And I don’t…I can’t think about what it would have been like for me if that had happened.”

Stiles nodded in understanding, because he knew enough about Jennifer now to know how much that would have devastated Derek’s life. “But she didn’t,” he told him. “And that can’t happen again. Jennifer doesn’t have anything on you anymore. She’s Deucalion’s PA or whatever, and he’s got her running around doing his bidding, but she can’t hurt you. And this,” he put his hand over his stomach, “she’s safe. And with us.”

Some of the tension eased out of Derek’s shoulders, and he reached up with one hand, curling his fingers around Stiles’ wrist and pulling his knuckles up for a kiss. “You’re perfect.”

Stiles flushed white-hot. “That’s…yeah. No. No, I’m not. I’m an idiot.”

Derek huffed and shook his head, and left his hand tangled with Stiles’ as they headed out to the restaurant.

_ _ _ 

By the time they dug into their food, the tension had completely eased, and Derek listened quietly as Stiles talked about college, about the little bit of traveling he did, about his plans to be a writer some day. “I mean, I’d like to go back to school,” Stiles said with a shrug. “Part of me working for Triskelion was putting enough into savings that I wouldn’t have to worry about my dad, and I could reapply. But now…”

“You don’t have to put that on hold,” Derek said firmly. He looked down at his plate, then back up at Stiles and said, “I went after you.”

Stiles blinked. “I. What?”

“Columbia,” Derek said quietly. “I thought I could find you, explain that I was…” He trailed off and shook his head. “Obviously I didn’t. Things got out of hand, and I was a moron. But I did try.”

Stiles felt that like a punch to the gut—angry for a second, but it was pointless to hold on to frustration after something so far in the past. “Well, we’re here now.”

Derek’s frown eased a little, and he managed a small smile. “Yeah. We are.”

Stiles pushed his plate away and rubbed his hand over his ever-growing baby. “If you don’t make this food disappear from my sight, I’m going to keep eating, and then I’m going to die. No one wants that.”

Derek’s eyes flashed for a second, then he huffed and signaled their server to bring over the bill. “No dessert, then?”

Stiles felt a warm flush all over, and he had to look away. “Uh…”

Derek chuckled and reached over, dragging his thumb over the back of Stiles’ hand. “I ordered something to go. We can take it with us, and do our shopping. Then um…I mean, I’m sure you’re sick of the hotel, but I…but my loft is there and…I guess I want you to see where the baby will be spending some time. And you…if you want.”

“Well, don’t expect any funny business,” Stiles said quiet, “but yeah. Yes. I’d love to.”

_ _ _ 

Derek was a mess of nerves as they drove up the secluded driveway, and parked near the private entrance to the hotel. He took the boxed dessert in one hand, and the bag of books hooked on his arm, then let his fingers tangle up with Stiles’ as they went inside.

The elevator opened immediately into his apartment, and Stiles let out a small puff of air, his heartrate picking up a little.

“This is…wow. Big. And uh…minimalistic?”

Derek blinked, then blushed a little bit as he looked around. Stiles wasn’t exactly wrong. After moving out of the suites once the divorce was final, decorating wasn’t exactly on Derek’s mind. He had a comfortable couch and TV to relax in front of, but the place was sorely lacking any personality.

In truth, Derek hadn’t been sure Stiles would ever be willing to come up there for any reason, and he figured he’d let his mom hire someone before the baby came. Now all of that was changing.

Derek bit his lip as he set the books and cake on the table, then turned and held his hand out to Stiles. “Can I show you around?”

Stiles nodded, letting their fingers tangle together, and Derek’s wolf preened at how utterly and completely right it felt with him there. He tugged Stiles past the empty living room, and up a short set of stairs to the first door. “Bathroom,” he said, cracking the door open. The next showed nothing more than empty space, but it had a view of the preserve which he had always loved. “I was thinking this could be for her,” Derek said, and let his hand reach out for Stiles’ stomach.

Stiles rested his hand on top of Derek’s and sighed. “She’ll love it.”

Derek hummed, then carefully pulled Stiles out, and all the way to the end. His room wasn’t much better than the rest of the loft—his bed the only thing that looked lived in with mussed sheets and a comforter balled up at the end of the mattress. His dresser was half open, and his closet showed his clothes hanging haphazardly.

“It’s not much,” he confessed. “I haven’t really felt at home yet, and I spend most of my time in my office. I promise it’ll look better for her. She’s not going to live in some industrial warehouse or anything.”

Stiles huffed and pulled on Derek’s hand. He came into his arms easily, letting his hands rest on Stiles’ hips, feeling the press of Stiles’ stomach between them. If he focused, he could hear the rapid thrum of their child’s heart.

“I can help you decorate if you want. I’ve been kind of nesting, you know? I don’t have a lot of cash to throw around but…”

“Whatever you need, let me,” Derek murmured, letting his hand move up to rest against the side of Stiles’ throat. It kept him calm, to put his scent there, to feel Stiles’ pulse against his hand and remind himself that his mate and his child were finally here, in his home. He desperately wanted to ask Stiles to just stay, to nest here and never leave. But it was too soon. Stiles wasn’t a wolf, wasn’t driven by those same instincts, and Derek had to be patient. For now, at least, this was enough.

“We’ll talk about it,” Stiles said, clear he wasn’t going to commit to anything. “Jennifer wanted you for money, and I don’t want to be like her.”

“You couldn’t be,” Derek murmured. He moved his hand up to cup Stiles’ cheek, thumb brushing against his warm skin. “You’re nothing like her, which is why we’re here right now. It’s why I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what I missed for years.”

Stiles’ eyes fluttered closed. “I wish,” he started, but didn’t finish his sentence.

Derek leaned in, letting his nose nuzzle against Stiles’ cheek. They hadn’t kissed yet, not since that afternoon five years ago, and Derek was starving for it. “I want to,” he murmured.

“Yes,” Stiles breathed in.

Neither of them opened their eyes when they turned their heads, their mouths searching until they pressed together in a slow, careful dance, just the barest hint of tongue. Stiles’ scent flooded Derek’s nostrils, overwhelmed his senses, and he curled his hands around him protectively.

“Stay,” he said. “Not…we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, but I want you to stay.”

Stiles swallowed thickly, then nodded. “Yes. And I’d like to…I wouldn’t mind um. If we…”

Derek felt a hot rush, and bit back a groan as he walked Stiles back until they hit the mattress. Stiles went easily, Derek’s hands still around him to ease his fall. Their limbs tangled, and they kissed again, this time wetter, messier, hungrier. When Derek pressed himself against Stiles, grinding against his side, he felt Stiles tense, heard his heart ratchet up, and not in a good way.

He slowed the kissing until he was pulling away in soft pecks, and cupped Stiles’ cheek. “What’s wrong?”

Stiles swallowed. “I haven’t…I’ve never…”

Derek blinked, then realized what Stiles was saying. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew. Stiles had been vocal about his virginity after finding out about the baby, but Derek hadn’t really considered it at the time, not in the middle of all the chaos. Now, however, it hit him.

“We don’t have to,” he said softly, reaching down to stroke along Stiles’ side. “We can go slow, take our time.”

“Doesn’t that seem stupid?” Stiles asked with a self-deprecating shake of his head. “I mean, I’m pregnant with your kid, and…waiting…”

“Stiles,” Derek said firmly, and waited until he had his full attention. “It isn’t stupid. You didn’t choose this,” he said, and pressed his hand along Stiles’ stomach. “This happened _to_ you, and just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you’re obligated to have sex if you’re not ready.”

Stiles closed his eyes, letting out a shaking breath. “It isn’t that. Not really. Just…” He rolled onto his back and pressed one hand over his face as Derek settled beside him, waiting in patient silence for him to go on. “When I was little, my mom told me to wait. Not because sex was shameful or anything. She just…she didn’t want me to suffer the way she had. I didn’t know too much about what she went through, of course. I was young when she died, but I remember promising her that I’d wait.”

“Until marriage?” Derek asked.

Stiles dropped his hand, then rolled toward Derek and took his hand, clutching it tight. “Until it was right. Whether or not marriage factored in didn’t matter, as long as I knew that my first time was with someone I could never regret.”

Derek felt his heart twist a little that Stiles hesitated—his mate was hesitating, but he couldn’t help but understand. All the mistakes he’d made, all the near misses and close calls. He was in awe of Stiles’ will. “I get it.”

“I don’t think I’d regret you,” Stiles murmured, reaching out and letting the tips of his fingers drag along Derek’s short beard. “But I’m still…it’s a lot. All of this is a lot.”

Derek closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, his body still wanting, but more than that, he felt content and complete with his mate curled up next to him in his bed. “I know it is, and I don’t want to rush things. I didn’t ask you to stay with any expectation, Stiles. I just want to be near you.”

Stiles grinned, a small, happy thing as he shuffled even closer to Derek. “I want to be ready.”

“You will be,” Derek said. “When it feels right, you’ll know it. And until then, I’m fine with this.” He pushed his face into the crook of Stiles’ neck and breathed him in. “Tomorrow we’ll go shopping for the baby, okay?”

Stiles huffed. “I have a shift in the morning.”

Derek groaned. “Call in sick. I have it on good authority the boss won’t mind.”

Letting out a startled laugh, Stiles smacked him in the side. “Are you suggesting I abuse my power over my boss for my own gain?”

Derek lifted his head, his entire body feeling bright with love for this man beside him, and he shrugged, giving Stiles a tiny smirk. “I also have it on good authority—from someone I trust with my life—that this situation sucks. His words,” and Derek felt it when Stiles realized the implication of the word trust. “So I say use it to your benefit. However you can.”

Stiles sighed, but cuddled even closer and yawned. “Can we call for room service tomorrow? I want chocolate chip pancakes.”

“Whatever you want,” Derek vowed.

“That’s a dangerous promise to make,” Stiles warned him, still smiling.

Derek cupped his cheek and leaned in to kiss him. “I don’t care,” he murmured against his lips. “I stand by it. Whatever you want.”

“Right now,” Stiles said, and took Derek’s hand to rest against his stomach, “just this.”

Derek’s eyes closed, and he felt a contented rumble in his chest as he felt his baby start stirring awake under his palm. “That,” he said softly, as Stiles’ breathing evened out and he drifted into sleep, “I can definitely do.” 

_ _ _ 

“What do you think of Sophie?” Stiles asked, digging his spoon into his froyo. He crunched down on one of the popping boba and sighed at the burst of flavor.

Derek hummed. “I don’t hate it. Did you find that in a book?”

Stiles shook his head. “No. It was the name my parents considered for me before they decided on mine. Which obviously I don't go by that monstrosity. Maybe if I lived in Poland, but California...?”

Derek raised his eyebrow. “I saw it on the medical form, but I can’t even begin to know how to pronounce that. What even is that accented L?”

Stiles snorted. “Hence the reason I’m talking to you about baby names and not my so-called father.”

Derek grinned at him, reaching out to swipe some yogurt from the corner of his mouth, and Stiles lost his breath a little when Derek licked his thumb. “I like Sophie.”

“It doesn’t sound great with Claudia though,” Stiles admitted. They reached the front of the store, and he dumped his half-melted dessert into the bin before following Derek into the cool AC. “I guess we have time.”

“Some,” Derek mused as he looked around for a shopping cart. “She’ll be here before we know it, though.”

That sent a small wave of panic through Stiles, but he distracted himself by diving head-first into the rows of tiny baby clothes hanging from tiny hangers. Derek followed him, weaving in and out expertly as Stiles brushed his hands along a selection of rompers. He touched the edge of a pink one covered in little ballet slipper prints.

“We want to stay neutral, right?” Stiles mused. “I mean, we don’t want to bombard her with too much pink. Right?” He turned big, wide eyes on Derek who looked guilty as he tried to hide what looked like a mini leather jacket behind his back.

“Uh. Right.”

Stiles snorted. “Get it. That’s probably the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Derek hummed and pulled a face as he held it up in front of him. “It’ll be forever until she can wear it.”

“So? Eventually she will and she’ll be the most badass kid in her playgroup.” Stiles reached out and yanked it from him, dropping it into the basket. Derek huffed at him, but smiled and the two of them browsed, picking up pastels of every color.

“Oh my god,” Stiles said, yanking a little printed onesie from the rack. He turned and held it out so Derek could read the silver glittery print that said, _I Am The Alpha_. “Would your mom totally be offended if we got her this?”

Derek couldn’t help a wide stretch of smile as he added it to their veritable mountain of stuff. “She’ll love it.” He hesitated, then said, “Speaking of. She uh…she’s hoping to meet you. She wanted to get some idea of our plans for after she’s born.”

Stiles bit his lip. They hadn’t come anywhere near discussing what the living arrangements were going to be. Derek’s place was bare, but it would fill up with stuff soon enough, and it was clearly a more luxurious and nicer place for her to grow up. 

The thought of sleeping even a single night without her though, sent Stiles into a slight panic and he tried to breathe through it. He didn’t realize he was short of breath until Derek was standing in front of him, pressing Stiles’ hand to his chest and saying softly, “Breathe with me, okay?”

Stiles nodded, and after several breaths, managed to calm down. “Sorry,” he murmured, slightly humiliated at having a panic attack in the middle of a department store.

Derek shook his head, gripping Stiles' chin lightly so their gazes met. “I shouldn’t have sprung my mom stuff on you in the middle of all this. If you need to go…”

“No,” Stiles said in a rush, and leaned into Derek's grip. “Really, I’m having a good time. And it wasn’t even that, I promise. It’s just…we haven’t talked about it, and then I thought about how she would probably be more comfortable at your place, but then I realized that would mean her sleeping without me and…”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Derek said quietly.

Stiles blinked at him. “I mean, my place isn’t bad, but it’s not as nice as yours.”

Derek huffed, shaking his head. “Your place is great, Stiles. I’ve been there, and it’s loved and lived in and it’s a home. I live in an empty loft I haven’t even bothered to decorate. Just because you don’t live at a five star hotel doesn’t make your life worse than mine. I could list a thousand things I’d rather have from your life.”

Stiles looked down at his feet. “Well…”

“But also I meant…I meant maybe there’s a way for us to not have to sleep without her,” Derek added, even softer now.

Stiles’ gaze snapped up to his face. “You mean…? But we just started dating.”

“I know,” Derek said. “And I’m not suggesting we live together right now. But we have a few months, and I also have a second bedroom. I just want to be near you and I want to be near her, and we can always give it a trial run. If we’re still good—if we’re happy by the time she gets here, then we see where we’re at. If not, then we figure something else out.”

Logic told Stiles that it wasn’t a good idea, but the hope shining in Derek’s eyes made it almost impossible for that word to slip past his lips. Instead of answering right away, he took the end of the cart and steered Derek toward baby furniture.

They came to a stop in front of the cribs, and Stiles shoved both his hands into his pockets. “Isn’t it soon for you? I mean, you just divorced Jennifer…”

“I did,” Derek answered. “But she and I have been over for a long time now. I…I don’t know.” He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, looking shy and uncertain. “When she left the hotel, when the judge signed the divorce papers, it didn’t feel any different. I don’t know when she and I stopped being a couple, but it was long before our baby came along.”

Stiles wanted to believe him. Desperately. And something in him was stirring, telling him that a lot of times these things were wrong, but this one…this one was right. “Okay,” he said finally. “Let’s give it a try.”

Derek’s face lit up like a sunrise, and he couldn’t seem to help himself as he let go of the cart and dragged Stiles into his arms for a kiss. “Thank you for taking a chance on me, even after all this mess.”

“I could say the same thing to you,” Stiles said.

Instead of answering him, Derek simply kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone on comments left a baby name suggestion for the Sterek baby, so I wanted to offer up the open invitation to send me more baby name suggestions! I'm going with the middle name of Claudia, but I'd love to hear more name ideas! <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is what the rating is for :)

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep after their shopping trip, but the day off from work, the good food, and the heavy make-out sessions were enough to drain him. Derek seemed to sense it, so he shuffled Stiles into his bed, kissed him gently, and told him he was going to start unpacking the baby’s room while Stiles rested.

He came to, groggy and a little uncertain about where he was. The smells around him were different, and the bed beneath him was much softer and much more comfortable than his own. It came to him in small bursts, and by the time Stiles recalled the whole afternoon, he was pressing his face into Derek’s pillow and grinning. 

The window showed it was well past dusk—the light from the moon illuminating the tops of the trees, and his stomach was growling from hunger. He stretched languidly, then rose and adjusted his sweat pants and t-shirt over his belly. He popped into the bathroom to relieve himself, and then started for the kitchen when he heard a faint noise, like a deep-chested growl.

Stiles whipped around toward the living room, and he saw it. Derek, on the sofa, his hands curled into the tops of his jeans which were partially shredded. His face was morphed into his beta shift, his eyes glowing electric blue, fangs jutting over his lip.

“Derek,” Stiles said quietly. “Are you…are we okay?” he asked, putting his hand over his stomach.

Derek swallowed thickly. “Yes.”

“You don’t seem sure,” Stiles pointed out. He knew the scare tactics that anti-werewolf organizations used—that wolves had no control, that humans were in danger every full moon, that they were more animal than man. But Stiles never believed it. He never felt unsafe working for the Hales.

However, he’d also never seen Derek’s full beta shift before, or his hands shaking the way they were now.

“What do you need?” he asked.

Derek huffed, then rose and started toward him. Stiles couldn’t help the way his heart ratcheted up, but he didn’t run—though something in him told him Derek would never hurt him. Ever. He managed not to flinch when Derek reached a clawed hand out, and he even leaned into the touch when his warm palm touched the side of Stiles’ neck.

“I’m sorry. Normally I’m not inside during the moon,” Derek told him, his words muffled by his fangs. “I know this must be horrifying…”

Stiles pulled back, then boldly reached up and pressed his hand to Derek’s cheek. The hair there was the same on his head—thick, soft, almost soothing against his skin. “No part of you is horrifying, Derek.”

Derek looked at him for a long moment, his eyes glowing softly, then he nuzzled into Stiles’ hand and breathed out a long sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“Listen, if you want to run,” Stiles began, but went quiet when Derek shook his head.

“Duke and his people are at the hotel tonight, and I don’t want to take risks. Not with you unable to defend yourself.” His hand reached down and pressed against Stiles’ belly where the baby began to kick harder than usual.

Stiles let out a puff of air and pressed his hand down next to Derek’s. “Do you think she can feel it? The moon? I mean…we won’t know if she’s a wolf until later, right? But is there…will there be a difference? If she’s human, but with a werewolf parent?”

“I don’t know,” Derek confessed. “Two of my sisters are human, but I’ve never asked them how it’s been.” He dipped his head in toward Stiles’ neck, breathed him in, and when he pulled back, his face had shifted back to human.

Stiles blinked at him. “Derek, I don’t mind.”

He gave Stiles a soft grin as he tangled their hands together and tugged him toward the kitchen. “I know you don’t, but I learned to control my wolf a long time ago. It’s harder during the moon, and I like to run with my pack. But it was the fear of you…of you being afraid of me that…” He gestured toward the thighs of his jeans which showed long strips of skin where his claws had been. “I don’t ever want you to be afraid of me.”

“I’m not,” Stiles told him, and there was no lie for Derek to hear in his heartbeat. He pulled himself onto the stool as Derek walked to the fridge and began to take out some of their leftovers. “Your human family, they’re pack, right?”

Derek turned to look at him for a second as he tipped the pasta into a cooking pot and put a lid on it. “They are, yes.”

“So if she…” Stiles brushed his hand over his belly. “If she isn’t a wolf, she’ll still be pack.”

Derek’s jaw tensed, but Stiles couldn’t really read his expression. After a moment, he nodded. “Of course she will be. My sisters always ran with us, even if they couldn’t get as rowdy. But my mom made sure they were never left out.”

Stiles grinned a little, and said nothing until there was food in front of him. “We should talk to her. I mean, I haven’t even officially met her. Outside of the whole, she’s my boss thing. But uh…this is her grandkid so…so yeah.”

Derek’s face was neutral, but his eyes had a bit of a glow in them as he studied Stiles’ face, maybe searching for dishonesty in his statement. When he found none, he nodded. “She’d like that.” Derek swirled his own food around in his bowl, but didn’t eat. “It’s been difficult. She’s protective of us, and it hasn’t been easy.”

Stiles frowned. “Why wouldn’t that be…” Then he realized it. “Oh. Laura.”

Derek bent his fork, then huffed and threw it in the bin before grabbing another. “I get it, I guess. Laura’s her heir—she’ll be Alpha when my mom…isn’t anymore.”

Stiles tried not to flinch. He knew that for the Alpha power to pass, the Alpha had to die, or have their power stolen, and the latter was so uncommon it was almost legend.

“And I…I understand what you were saying that night. Laura made a mistake, and I don’t expect my mom to shun her for it.” He rubbed a hand down his face, then pushed his pasta toward Stiles to finish off. “But it’s not easy to deal with her trying to force peace between us when I wasn’t ready.”

“Wasn’t,” Stiles asked through a mouthful of food.

Derek shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I still feel angry when I think of what might have happened. And I’m furious about what this did to you.” He gave Stiles a careful look. “I’m angry because she took the choice away from us. She took away time that we could have shared doing it together. We lost months.”

Stiles reached over and carefully pressed his hand over Derek’s. “We’re moving slow, but we’re still here. Together. We’ve got a few months left to go, and we have birthing class, and nursery decorating, and we still have to pick a name. All you really lost was rubbing my back as my stomach tried to escape my body.”

Derek smiled in spite of shaking his head. “I wanted that, too. But you’re right.” He came around the counter, up behind Stiles so he could octopus his arms around him and hold him tight as Stiles finished off the second bowl of pasta. “We have a lot left to do.”

“Together,” Stiles reminded him.

Derek hummed, then kissed the side of his neck. 

_ _ _ 

They curled up on the couch after eating, and though Derek’s wolf was obviously close to the surface, he kept himself calm by holding on to Stiles, occasionally letting out a contented rumble which rushed through Stiles’ limbs.

It was nearing one in the morning, and Stiles was starting to drift when Derek shifted against him. “Stiles. Can I…I want to show you something.”

Stiles twisted to look at Derek. “Okay. Anything.”

Derek’s face softened, then he shoved at Stiles until they were both standing. “Go get in bed. I’ll be there in a minute, okay?”

Stiles nodded, frowning, but obeyed since honestly the only place he wanted to be was in that comfortable bed, curled up in Derek’s arms. He shuffled under the covers, discarding his pants and t-shirt, lounging in the stretch of his maternity boxers.

Several minutes passed, and just when he was starting to worry, the door creaked open. Stiles sat up, and his heart leapt into his throat when instead of Derek, there was a massive black dog.

No.

A wolf. With electric blue eyes.

Stiles’ panic started to recede just slightly, and he licked his lips and asked, “Derek?” in a voice that just barely didn’t tremble.

The wolf— _Derek_ —let out a whuff, then hopped on the bed, nudged Stiles back against the pillows, and licked at his neck, collarbone, and eventually down over his heart. Stiles felt a near-hysterical laugh bubbling in his gut, and he buried his hands in the obnoxiously soft fur of his…

Boyfriend?

Partner?

Whatever. They’d definitely need to talk about that later, but for now, he felt unbelievably warm and safe with the massive wolf curled up next to him. Stiles shifted until he was laying on his left side, facing Derek, and Derek lowered his head and licked a long stripe right where the baby was kicking.

“So. This is new. And your full shift. I didn’t know wolves could actually do that,” he babbled, knowing Derek couldn’t actually answer him. “You’re beautiful, by the way. Like…I can’t get over how much I’m into you. No matter what form you take, it seems like. And uh…that’s a good thing. I think it’s a good thing.”

He felt braver, spilling his feelings out when Derek couldn’t answer him back. But it was obvious Derek was hearing it, taking it all in with the way his eyes were locked on Stiles’ face.

Eventually Stiles quieted, and Derek nestled down against him, and with Stiles’ hands buried in Derek’s fur, they both drifted off.

_ _ _ 

Derek woke in fits and bursts, as he usually did the night after the moon. He was naked as per usual, only this time, he wasn’t alone. The smell of his mate, and the child growing inside, flooded his senses, and Derek found himself shuffling closer, pressing his nose into the intoxicating scent, letting it overwhelm him until he was only aware of Stiles’ heartbeat, and the faster one of the baby.

Stiles groaned a little in his arms, and shifted into him. Derek felt his own heart start thudding against his ribs when Stiles’ hips shifted, and there was a distinct hardness pressing into his thigh. Derek’s breath caught in his throat as the scent of arousal joined the others, and then Stiles began to rock against him.

His desire to claim his mate flared to life inside him, but he tamped it down and carefully leaned in to wake Stiles with gentle, chaste kisses along his jaw. “Stiles,” he murmured.

Stiles grumbled, then after a pause, the rocking ceased. “Jesus. I’m so sorry, oh my god. I’m totally molesting you in my sleep!”

Derek huffed a laugh and kissed his jaw again. “Trust me, I don’t mind. But I know you do.”

Stiles swallowed, and Derek smelled the arousal thicken instead of ease, and there was no sour stench of fear the way there had been the first time they’d fallen into bed together. “I don’t, actually,” Stiles said. He looked up, his eyes wide, bright, pupils dilated with his want which almost sent Derek into overdrive. “I want you.”

Derek had to close his eyes to keep control. “You know I want you, but I don’t want you to regret anything.”

“I won’t,” Stiles said. There was no uptick in his heartbeat, just a steady thrum, a little fast from his desire, but he was telling the truth. “It’s right. I think it’s always felt right. I want you.” His hand reached between them, curling around Derek’s hard dick to confirm that it was reciprocated, then he shuffled so he could lift one leg over Derek’s hips, bringing their groins into contact. Derek hissed through his teeth, and surged forward. “Yes,” Stiles muttered, just before Derek pushed his tongue into Stiles’ mouth.

The kiss was sloppy, sour from sleeping all night, but utterly perfect. They picked up a rhythm, Derek growing wet and leaking from the tip as the head of his cock began to push past his foreskin. “Stiles,” he groaned. “Stiles, what can I…what do you want?”

“Everything,” Stiles murmured. “But I’m not going to last long for it.”

Derek chuckled, a little rough from sleep and want, and he carefully pushed at Stiles’ hips so he was no longer thrusting against him. Stiles made a quiet noise of protest, but Derek was quick to put his hand around him, and pull in long, firm, sure strokes.

“Holy shit,” Stiles gasped, arching against Derek.

Derek had to close his eyes again, otherwise he’d lose control. This was his mate—his untouched mate—who was in his bed, arching for him, moaning for him. Derek wasn’t sure he’d ever get to have this, and the thrill of it shot up his spine and wrapped around him. “I love you,” he murmured.

Stiles gasped, and Derek opened his eyes because as much as he’d told himself not to—to keep it quiet until Stiles was ready, the words weren’t a lie. He was terrified to find rejection there, but instead he saw awe and wonder.

“D-Derek,” Stiles stuttered. His thrusts into the circle of Derek’s fingers became erratic. Derek tightened his grip slightly, and surged in to kiss Stiles until he felt him swell, and pulse, and spill over his knuckles. His strokes slowed, gentling until it was too much, and he pulled his hand away, quickly taking his own dick and stroking it roughly until his own come mixed with Stiles’.

The smell of it was right—it was perfect. It was everything.

He flopped back against the pillows and allowed himself a moment to breathe before looking over. The moment of truth, he realized. To see if he’d overstepped.

Stiles’ heart was starting to even out, and his face wasn’t entirely readable, but he didn’t seem disgusted, and didn’t smell afraid.

“Did you mean it? Or was it like…an orgasm thing?” Stiles asked.

Derek reached over with his clean hand, dragging Stiles’ to his lips and kissed his palm, the tips of his fingers, the inside of his wrist. “I meant it. I know we just started dating, but you were the one I wanted all these years. And it’s not just the baby, Stiles.”

That seemed to be exactly what Stiles needed to hear, because he surged in and kissed Derek without abandon. When they finally broke apart, they were both panting—not quiet near getting hard again, but Derek was having trouble keeping his hands to himself.

“We should shower,” Stiles murmured.

Derek laughed. “Yeah. And I actually have to go into the office today.”

Stiles groaned and rubbed a hand down his face. “I have a shift tonight.”

“You can call in…”

“Derek,” Stiles interrupted, his voice a little hard now. “I appreciate what you’re doing, and what we might have. But this is still my job, and I’m not…I’m not ready to quit. I actually do like it.”

Derek bit his lip, feeling guilt rush through him. “I didn’t mean to imply anything. I like having you here, and I’m glad you enjoy it. You’re good at it, and it means you’re close to me.”

Stiles huffed a laugh, but the words calmed him. “Thank you. I just…I know you’re the big CEO and I’m just a server…”

“You aren’t just anything,” Derek told him, pressing a kiss to his lips before rolling away. “You have never been just anything.”

Stiles rolled his eyes, but pushed himself up, grimacing at the drying, sticky mess on his belly. “Yeah well…”

Derek crossed over to him, hands to his hips, and kissed his neck, then down his chest to the swell of his belly where the baby was quiet. “I’ll talk to my mother today and see when she wants to have dinner. And I don’t expect you to quit your job, or…or anything like that. But there are some advantages to me being your boss, and I want you to use them if you need them.”

Stiles sighed, but he was holding back a grin. “We can talk about it eventually, okay? For now, we’ll just go about like normal. Except you know…being honest about being in love.”

Derek froze, looking at him carefully. “You love me?”

Stiles frowned. “I…yeah. Of course, Derek.”

“You just…” Derek rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling a little vulnerable, a little sheepish. “You didn’t say it back, which is fine. Of course it’s fine. I just…wasn’t sure.”

Stiles huffed, and dragged him in close. “Sorry. For someone who talks as much as I do, sometimes the right stuff doesn’t come out. Of course I love you. I’ve been pining for you for five years. And maybe it would have been a disaster if you hadn’t been the man I thought you were, but you are. You’re better. So yes, Derek. I love you.”

Derek allowed those words to sink into his bones, to wrap around him and hold him, even as they parted to clean up for the day.

_ _ _ 

Stiles knew he was going to face heaps of shit from everyone when they saw him coming from the door which led to Hale private living quarters, but he was too happy to care. He and Derek had made love. Stiles had lost his virginity, and Derek had confessed his love, and they were having a baby together.

And nothing was perfect—this wasn’t like he imagined—but at the same time, he couldn’t be angry about it. Everything he’d ever convinced himself about Derek Hale was proving untrue. Derek was rich—yes. And he was a little oblivious to social issues of the world. But he was gentle, and he was kind, and every time Stiles thought the man had been acting in the behavior of a too-rich asshole in the past, it had been something different. It had been trauma, and suffering, and grief.

Stiles was overwhelmed with guilt at how badly he’d misjudged the man, even if he hadn’t been given a lot of information to work with. Whatever the case was, it was different now. His future was looking bright.

He spent his afternoon texting with Derek, and lounging around the loft until it was time to get ready for his shift.

He was lucky not to run into anyone, but he knew that the beard burn on his neck was a dead give-away, especially when Erica wolf-whistled him and waggled her eyebrows. Stiles flipped her off as he struggled to tie his apron around his waist for his lounge shift.

“So,” she said with a shit-eating grin as she leaned against the bar.

“You are getting zero details from me,” Stiles hissed at her. “So don’t even try.”

“Yeah well, your blabbermouth boyfriend is going to spill his guts to _my_ boyfriend…” she started.

“Yeah well, Boyd isn’t a blabbermouth,” Stiles reminded her.

She gave him a wicked smile. “You’re forgetting how good I am at getting what I want.” When Stiles huffed, she softened and reached out to squeeze his wrist. “I’m happy for you. For both of you. Derek’s been miserable for…as long as I’ve known him, and since you two have started…whatever the hell this is, he’s different. Better. The Derek I always figured he’d be, once he got his head out of his ass.”

Stiles laughed quietly. “Well. Good, I guess. And if it matters at all, I’m happy too.”

“It matters,” she said. “Anyway, you’ve got four tables out by the pool.”

Stiles sighed, but was grateful to have work to focus on.

_ _ _ 

When lunch came around, he had a single text from Derek saying he was stuck in a meeting and would have to see him at the end of his shift. Stiles was annoyed, but he couldn’t expect miracles, and at the very least, there were Isaac’s turkey burgers in the employee cafeteria which made up for it.

Stiles took his outside to the service entrance near the loading dock, and eased down on the bench under the broken cabana. It was totally empty, which was the peace he was craving, and he quickly dug in as he caught up on some of his neglected social media.

His heart did a little stutter when he saw an email from his old school, but he set that aside to read for later. He’d been in contact with admissions about reapplying, but he was terrified of reading a rejection. His grades had been good until he’d been forced to drop out, and he wanted this baby, and he wanted Derek, but he also wanted to get back to his life plan.

Derek and the little one could fit into that, but Stiles needed to remember to make room for himself, too.

He was caught up in his own thoughts enough he didn’t hear footsteps until a quiet voice said his name. “Hey, Stiles. The front desk said you might be out here.”

Stiles’ gaze flicked up and he startled to see Danny approaching. A wave of guilt hit him—he’d completely forgotten to keep Danny in the loop. Danny, who wanted Stiles, who had offered to wait for him. He didn’t deserve to be let down like this, though Stiles didn’t have much choice.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I just…it’s been a while since we’ve talked, and I missed you.” Danny grinned, all dimples, and sat a space away.

Stiles bristled, and tried to keep from blurting out that he was taken. “Yeah I uh…it’s just been a little busy, you know?”

Danny smiled softly. “I know. I figured. Just…I hope you didn’t forget about me.”

In truth, Stiles had, but he wasn’t about to hurt the guy by admitting it. “Of course not. I meant to call. I was going to.” That was at least true. Or the intent was.

Danny shrugged. “Look, I know it’s complicated, what you have going on, but I was hoping you’d let me take you out on a date this weekend. I’m not asking for more, but I just wanted you to know that I’m here for all of it, okay? And when you give the baby up, it’ll be hard. I can help.”

“Danny,” Stiles said, a little helpless, trying to find his words. “That’s not a good idea, okay. I mean, I’m pregnant, and honestly I’m…”

“I don’t mind the way you look,” Danny said, and started to reach out for Stiles’ belly.

Neither of them had notice the approach of the werewolf. Not until Danny was yanked away from Stiles and pinned to the dumpster by his neck.

“If you touch him, I will rip your throat out,” Derek growled through fangs.

Stiles was instantly on his feet, grabbing Derek by the elbow. “Dude! Let him go!”

Derek growled, turning eyes to Stiles that were wide and hurt. Shit. “Stiles…”

“I wasn’t going to let him touch me,” Stiles told him. “Okay? I wouldn’t…that’s not what’s happening right now.”

Derek swallowed, then dropped his hands and before Stiles could say anything more, he fled.

After a beat, Stiles backed up to the table and dropped onto the bench. “Shit. Fuck. That is not…not how I imagined my day going.”

Danny rubbed at his throat, his eyes wide, more worried than afraid. “You and him? Really?”

Stiles looked up at him, feeling a rush of irritation. “He’s the father of my baby, Danny.”

Danny frowned. “Yes, but he’s also a werewolf, Stiles. And you saw what he did. What happens when he gets pissed at you?”

Stiles rose. “First of all, that was him pissed at me, no thanks to you. I mean, who goes around touching pregnant people without their consent, dude! Secondly yeah, he’s a werewolf. And my child is probably going to be one too.”

“Well it’s not like you’re keeping it…” Danny started.

Stiles let out a high, tense laugh. “Yeah dude, I am. I am keeping her, and the simple fact that you’d use Derek’s species against him is exactly why you and I would never work.” He started away, but Danny reached out and grabbed him, letting go when Stiles glared.

“Just…he’s everything you hate, Stiles. He’s rich, he has no thought at all for people like us…”

“You don’t know him,” Stiles said, rubbing his arm like it would wipe the scent of Danny away. “He’s rich, but he’s everything I want. And it’s not up to you. We’re not a couple, and you should…you should go.”

Danny swallowed thickly, then nodded and turned on his heel. He stopped to look back just once, just before he reached the door, and then he was gone.

Stiles knew he should go after Derek, but he was too busy falling back to the bench and shaking apart.

_ _ _ 

Derek glowered when he felt the slap on the back of his head, and he bared his teeth at Erica who did the same. 

“You’re a moron, Derek,” she said.

Derek clenched his jaw. “I thought he and Stiles were over. I thought Stiles broke up with him…”

“No, he didn’t,” Erica said, and before panic could set in she finished, “because they were never dating. Danny was never a guy who wanted to settle down, and he seemed really into Stiles, but I don’t think anyone would have ever predicted this. And if you had waited like five extra seconds, you probably would have seen Stiles shutting him down. Hard. Because that boy can take care of himself, trust me.”

Derek felt his cheeks heat up, and he rubbed at his eyes. “I fucked it up, didn’t I?”

“A little bit,” Erica confessed. “And his condition is kind of delicate…in the emotional sense. So you’re probably going to have to do some serious ass kissing for that cave-wolf display back there.”

Derek groaned and let his forehead drop on the bar top. “I tried. I was trying. Just…he’s my pregnant mate, Erica. It’s instinct.”

“Yeah, but you’re a big, grown-up wolf who can control himself, Der.” She gave the back of his neck a soothing pet. “Just go apologize and try some meditation or something. And prepare to grovel.”

Derek huffed through his nose, but he knew he had to. He’s been terrified that he was going to scare Stiles, had hesitated in showing his wolf for that reason, then he had to go Cro-Magnon the same morning Stiles had finally trusted him with _everything_ , and he had no idea what was going to happen next.

“I love him,” Derek muttered.

“Good thing I love you too, asshole.”

Derek’s head snapped up and his eyes widened. Stiles was a foot away, arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrowed in a glower. Derek had no idea how he’d missed Stiles walking up, but he blamed it on his raging guilt.

“I…”

Stiles closed the distance between them, unmindful of the few customers in the bar, and wrapped his hand around the back of Derek’s neck. He drew him in, pressing their foreheads together, and let Derek breathe him in. “He’s gone.”

Derek swallowed thickly. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Stiles said.

Derek pulled back in surprise. “What the hell for?”

Stiles shrugged. “I forgot about Danny. I never really shut him down before you and I got together.” He dropped his hands, but Derek caught them in a gentle hold. “I should have been more clear with him, but I was lonely. I thought you and Jennifer were going to take this baby and be a family together, and I…I was scared.”

Derek sighed, tugging Stiles closer, pressing his lips to his temple. “I’m sorry I ever led you to believe you wouldn’t be part of this.”

“It was me,” Stiles reminded him. “At first, that was what I wanted.”

“But it wouldn’t have come to that if I hadn’t let you go in the first place,” Derek reminded him.

“Oh my god, you two are disgusting,” Erica said, throwing a lemon at Derek’s face. He ducked it, and it hit his shoulder. “Seriously, this is fighting between you two?”

Stiles flipped her off as he adjusted his apron and gently pulled out of Derek’s hold. “We can talk more later. Away from the peanut gallery.”

Erica rolled her eyes and went back to doing the requisition sheet.

“Okay,” Derek said quietly. “I love you.”

Stiles beamed, and the uptick Derek heard in his heart wasn’t the same one when he heard a lie. This was surprise, and elation. “I love you too. Now go away, you’re distracting me and I still have three hours left on my shift.”

Derek sighed, but pushed off the barstool and leaned in for one more kiss. “Come up to the loft when you’re done. I’m still sorry, and I want to make it up to you in ways that would get you fired, and me arrested here.”

Stiles flushed and shoved at him. “Oh my god, just go.”

And Derek did. With a huge smile stretched across his face.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a very important interview in one hour, so I'm posting this quickly before I go out to do this, and I will update asap.
> 
> Warnings for kidnapping and a cliffhanger, but I won't leave you hanging for long. The end is near!

The elevator doors opened to the loft main room, and Stiles stepped in, feeling a little weird about strolling right into Derek’s space. He reminded himself Derek wanted him there—hell, was in love with him, and wanted to live with him, so he tamped down on the apprehension. The main room had lights on, but he didn’t hear anything, so he dropped the pastry bag the kitchen had sent up for Derek, and wandered into the back.

Through Derek’s room, Stiles heard the shower going, and got a little smile as he stripped out of his shirt, and was down to boxers when he entered the steamy room. He could see Derek behind the glass, head tipped back as he rinsed bubbles from his hair, then he turned with a grin.

“I heard the elevator,” Derek said, his voice low and echoing along the glass and tiles.

Stiles grinned as he reached for the waistband of his boxers. “Company?”

“Only yours,” Derek said He pushed the glass door open as Stiles stripped out of his socks and underwear, then let Derek’s hand curl around his wrist and drag him under the warm spray.

The cascading warmth felt like heaven against his overworked skin, and he groaned as he let it run down his back. Derek’s hands were lathered with an earthy soap, working the suds into his aching muscles, gentle across the swell of his belly.

“How was the rest of your night?” Derek asked as he turned Stiles toward the wall so he could get to his back.

Stiles groaned at the way Derek’s thumbs kneaded into his shoulders. “Typical. Snobby, rich assholes who want me to wait on them hand and foot and compensate me peanuts for my work. Nothing new.”

Derek growled a little as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the back of Stiles’ neck. “I’m sorry. You deserve better.”

“Everyone working there does,” Stiles told him.

Derek huffed and nipped at his shoulder. “I know that. Erica is my best friend in the world, and trust me, she’s never been shy telling me what it’s like. And my mom had my sisters and I all work in the restaurant when we were in high school. I don’t devalue anyone’s work.”

Stiles’ cheeks flushed and he turned, hooking his arms around Derek’s shoulders. “I know. And I misjudged you, and I am sorry for that. But you have to understand the huge social divide between people who own a hotel and the people who work in it.”

“Of course,” Derek said, and leaned in to take the kiss Stiles had been wanting to give since he stepped under the spray. “And you can tell me all about it, and I promise I will always listen.”

A shiver of pleasure raced up his spine as Derek dug soapy hands into his hair and washed away the rest of the day. As he massaged along his scalp, Stiles’ own hands began to wander, down the thick patch of hair on Derek’s chest, to the one surrounding his cock. He hadn’t really let himself explore before, and he was a little startled when his hand cupped around a heavy ball-sack.

“I thought you uh…from the cancer?” Stiles asked.

Derek’s ears flushed at the tips. “Uh. They’re implants.” He bit his lip for a second and shrugged. “I know it sounds ridiculous to be so concerned with how I’d look there…”

“It’s not ridiculous,” Stiles told him firmly, then curled his hand around Derek’s half-hard cock. “That had to be beyond traumatic, Derek, and you’re not expected to feel or behave a certain way. Whatever makes you feel like you can cope…I would never judge you for it.”

Derek closed his eyes, then leaned in and kissed Stiles, slow and easy. Stiles stroked him as Derek backed him against the wall, but his cock remained stubbornly flaccid.

“Am I doing something wrong?” Stiles asked.

Derek groaned, shaking his head as he pushed his face into Stiles’ neck. “It’s not you. I take testosterone now to make up for my hormone loss, but sometimes…”

“Okay,” Stiles said, carefully withdrawing his hand. “What do you need?”

Derek pulled back and gave him a look, his eyes narrow and heated. “I need to suck your cock.”

Stiles couldn’t help the needy whimper from rushing past his lips, and he couldn’t help the way his eyes slammed shut as Derek sank to his knees. He didn’t waste time, either, taking Stiles down in one long swallow, his hands curled around Stiles’ thighs to help keep him upright.

When Stiles looked down, it took everything he had not to shoot his load right there. Derek’s lips were stretched around him, his eyes hooded with desire as he stared at Stiles’ face. Stiles couldn’t seem to help himself from reaching down and touching the place where Derek’s mouth was round him.

Derek groaned, and Stiles felt it travel up to his gut, and his head fell back against the wall. He was coming in seconds, unable to hold out any longer, and he shuddered when he felt Derek swallowing it all down. Derek pulled away, then rested his forehead against Stiles’ leg, panting a little. Peering around the swell of his belly, Stiles saw Derek still wasn’t hard.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked quietly.

Derek pushed to his feet, then pulled Stiles back under the spray to finish washing him. “This is enough for me,” he said. His voice was low, and steady, and Stiles felt deep in his bones that Derek was telling the truth.

They wrapped up the impromptu shower sex shortly after, and dried off with fluffy towels before heading into the bedroom. Derek tossed over some sweats which Stiles tucked under his stomach, and then pulled an old, threadbare t-shirt on.

Derek couldn’t seem to keep his hands off Stiles, rubbing his nose along his neck, hands over his belly. “Are you still feeling territorial because of Danny?” Stiles guessed.

From the little blush across Derek’s cheeks, he guessed he was right. “I don’t mean to be,” Derek said as they walked into the kitchen. He spied the pastry bag, then gave a shy smile as he seized it. “Who sent this?”

“Isaac,” Stiles said with a shrug. “He heard from Boyd about the whole…work drama, and said this would make you feel better.”

It turned out to be cream puffs with a dark chocolate ganache, and Derek happily shared. Watching Derek dig into the sweet was an experience in himself, and Stiles once again felt his world rearranging about this man he thought he knew.

He worried for a minute about his feelings. He’d been pining for Derek when he thought he was the aloof, rich asshole who looked down on him, but the man in front of him with chocolate smeared over his bottom lip was someone entirely different. Stiles worried that maybe his feelings would change as he got to know this Derek better, but the rush of affection he felt when he reached out to wipe the chocolate, and received a kiss on his palm for it, told him something else.

He was happy here, and content with this man in a way he’d never felt before in his life. He had an urge to curl into Derek, the growing baby between them, and live that way forever.

“Are you alright?” Derek asked as he reached for the remote.

Stiles blinked. “Hmm? Do I not seem okay?”

Derek shrugged. “Your heart was going a little fast there for a second. I know this is probably a lot for you…”

“It isn’t that,” Stiles said, though that wasn’t entirely true. It was a lot—these were huge changes, and so fast. But he didn’t feel bad about them at all. “I’m just adjusting.”

“I just hope you know there’s no expectations,” Derek said as he settled Stiles against him. “I know the whole meet the parents thing is daunting, but we don’t have to. I want you to be comfortable here. With me.”

“I am,” Stiles assured him, and closed his hand over Derek’s. “It’s just been a long day, and there’s a lot to figure out. Like,” he said slowly, rubbing his hand along his belly, “if there’s a little Sophie in there. Or maybe an Elizabeth? Or Lila.”

He felt the curve of Derek’s smile against his cheek as Derek kissed him. “Or maybe Isabelle? Or Lily?”

Stiles turned a little so he could look at Derek. “Have you been looking at the book?”

“Maybe,” Derek said. “There are so many, but I’m not sure any of them are going to feel right until we see her.” He spread his fingers over Stiles’ stomach and let his thumb rub gently across his skin.

“Yeah,” Stiles said with a sigh. He shifted when he felt the baby start to kick against Derek’s hand, and he smiled. “She loves her daddy.” He paused and looked up. “Is that…I mean, did you want to be something else or…”

Derek’s cheeks were a little pink as he followed the line of her kicks. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to take anything away from you.”

“What did you call your dad?” Stiles asked quietly.

Derek looked stormy suddenly. “Father, usually. He wasn’t…the warmest man. I don’t want to be like him, in any respect.”

Stiles shook his head. “Then you won’t be. You already love this child more than I expected, Derek. Trust me, it won’t be the same.”

“I won’t let it,” Derek said softly. After a pause, he said, “My mother invited us to a dinner tomorrow, and then after we’ll tell her our plans.”

Stiles’ eyebrows raised. “The ones we’re not even sure about ourselves yet?”

Derek bit his lip and looked a little sheepish. “I was hoping this was working out so far.”

Stiles laughed. “God, you are ridiculous. It’s only been like a day, Derek.” Before Derek could pout, Stiles twisted a little to press a kiss at the corner of his mouth. “But it is going well enough I have hopes that our plans are going to work out just fine. Once we get some actual furniture and décor in here.”

Derek huffed and nosed into Stiles’ hair. “Fine. This weekend we can go to IKEA if it’ll make you happy.”

Stiles hummed happily. “I love IKEA. Meatballs and funky knick knacks I have absolutely no need for.” Derek groaned, but Stiles wasn’t allowed to let him take it back. “I have a shift on Saturday and Sunday. You think my boss’ll let me out?”

“For IKEA, I don’t know,” Derek grumbled, but he was smiling into Stiles’ hairline. “I think he can probably be persuaded.”

Stiles sighed, and felt the serious decisions creeping around the corner. “There’s more we need to decide. You realize that, right? I mean, I have to take time off, and then after she’s born…”

“I want you to do whatever makes you happy,” Derek told him insistently. “If that means taking a year off to be with her and then going to school, we can make that happen. If it means working, then I’m here for that too.”

“I want to go back to school,” Stiles confessed, “and not having to work will make that easy but…”

“But,” Derek pressed.

“But, what if it doesn’t work out?” Stiles let his fear color his tone a little. “Between us, I mean. I just…I can’t afford school without working, Derek, and I don’t know how I’m going to be a parent, and work a full time job, and get through grad school.”

There was something in Derek’s eyes Stiles couldn’t read, but there was a promise in his tone when he spoke that as much as he wanted to, Stiles couldn’t deny. “Whatever happens Stiles, just know that I’ll take care of you. I’m not going to let you suffer because this fell in your lap without your consent. The fact that you’ve come this far is nothing short of a miracle, and I need you to trust me that whatever decisions you make right now, I’ll help you see them through. Regardless of us.”

Licking his lips, Stiles nodded, then eased into Derek’s arms even further. “Thank you,” he murmured.

Derek had no response other than to hug him tight.

_ _ _ 

Derek was gone by the time Stiles got up for the lunch shift. He took a languid shower, then walked down for his uniform in Derek’s sweats. As it was Thursday, he was the only server on for the next few hours, apart from Annie who was manning the bar and the host stand.

He was prepping some ketchup bottles when she poked her head around the corner. “First table. VIP. Some clients of the owners.”

Stiles sighed and nodded. Those were always the worst, rude and entitled, and often left nothing more than a terse thanks in place of a tip. But Stiles was nothing if not professional, so he pasted on his best smile and headed out into the dining room.

The only table was occupied by a brunette in the solarium, and Stiles felt his pocket for his order pad before walking over. He came to a skidding halt when the woman turned, and he saw it was Jennifer. Her smile was wide, but her eyes were icy cold as she zeroed in on him.

“Stiles. I was hoping you were on today.”

Stiles swallowed thickly and tried to hide the tremble in his hands. “Miss…” He realized he didn’t know her last name since the divorce.

“Jennifer is perfectly fine. I mean, we’re practically friends, aren’t we?” She glanced down at the swell of his stomach which was getting bigger by the day. “You were going to allow me to be the mother of your child once.”

Stiles felt his cheeks heat. “Jennifer. How are you?”

“Oh, as well as can be expected.” She waved her hand, and he realized the purpose of the gesture when the light caught on a new, very large engagement ring. She followed his gaze, then let out a small laugh. “It seems Derek isn’t the only one who was quick to move on.”

Stiles clenched his hand into fists. “Look, that wasn’t…”

“Don’t worry, I get it.” She leaned in toward him. “Trust me, if I was in your position—broke, no hope of a better life, with a shaky malpractice case that would take years to pay out, I’d have done the same thing. Bag the baby daddy, get a fat pay check?”

Stiles felt rage rushing through him. “You have no idea what this is about.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Oh Stiles, I could read you a hundred miles away. The way you’d watch him at parties, the way you always seemed to put yourself in his eyeline. It’s been gossip amongst the staff for years. That little story you told people about how Derek kissed you after a rainstorm. I mean, I appreciate the long con, believe me.”

Stiles bit the inside of his cheek, then looked back to the bar where Annie was cleaning glasses and realized he was on his own for this. He knew Derek would be furious that Jennifer was here—that she was in his business, talking to Stiles. But Stiles also knew that causing a scene would only look badly on the new CEO still trying to find his feet.

So he sighed and shrugged. “What can I get you this afternoon?”

“I’ll just start with some water and bread,” she said lightly. “I’m waiting on a few guests.”

Stiles nodded, then turned on his heel and hurried to the server station. Annie caught his look and followed him, grabbing his arm as he slammed a tray down on the counter.

“Hey, are you okay? You look…”

“I’m fine,” Stiles said through clenched teeth. “Seriously. I’m fine. Just…I just want to get this table out of here as quick as I can.”

She frowned, but shrugged and went back to work as Stiles filled a bread basket, water, and arranged a spiral of lemons on a small plate. Jennifer didn’t say much as Stiles brought it back, and he knew she was trying to draw out the tension.

It made sense, not five minutes later, when Deucalion and his entourage entered the restaurant. He kissed her cheek gently before sitting, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out who Jennifer had attached herself to next—and that their presence here was meant to be a threat.

_ _ _ 

Derek was on his third meeting when the feeling of unease hit him. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but his every instinct was telling him to find his mate, to protect him. He checked his phone several times, however, and he trusted that if there was a problem, Stiles would handle it.

Derek needed to focus as it was. Peter and Deucalion were at each other’s throats in the earlier meeting, and with Deucalion threatening to sell his shares, Derek would have to work late trying to figure out who he could get to buy them up, and who Duke might have in the wings ready to take his place should he leave.

He wasn’t about to be pushed around, however. He might not be an Alpha like his mother, but he could be just as strong as her. He was nothing like his father. He wouldn’t run—not from business, not from family, not from the things that mattered. Part of that now was staying in his meetings, focusing on what needed to be done, and not panicking every five minutes about Stiles.

He had to trust in his mate—that he would ask for help if he needed it, and that he could take care of himself.

All the same, the moment Derek was able to free himself from the boardroom, he hurried down to the lounge where the bartender he didn’t know well was finishing up her duties to prepare for dinner.

“Stiles,” Derek said, then flushed when she gave him an almost-terrified stare. “Uh. He was on shift. Is he still here?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, Mr. Hale, but he left early. He said he wasn’t feeling well, and McCall came and picked him up about an hour ago.”

Right when the feeling had been the worst. Derek swore under his breath. “Thank you.” He headed into the server alley and pulled his phone out, dialing Stiles. It gave half a ring before going to voicemail, and Derek fought the urge to put his fist through the wall.

Instead of giving in to his panic, he made his way to HR and headed into the manager’s office. “Lynn, I need the contact info for Scott McCall.”

She looked worried, but clicked on her keyboard quickly, and the printer behind Derek buzzed to life, spitting out a contact sheet. “Everything okay, sir?”

“Yes,” he said absently, scanning the sheet for Scott’s cell number. He found it, then punched the number in and hit sent. His foot tapped impatiently as it rang, and rang, and eventually went to voicemail.

Frustrated and a little scared, Derek sent a text to Boyd, asking him to meet in the third floor ballroom, on the terrace. It would be quiet up there, far enough away from the guests he’d be able to think without leaving the property. They had a wedding and two business conferences that week, and he couldn’t rush off every time there was a small issue. He had to find a balance.

Boyd was already waiting for him when Derek stepped out onto the terrace. “Stiles is missing.”

“Stiles was let out early because he wasn’t feeling well,” Boyd said, parroting the bartender.

Derek bared his teeth a little in frustration. “Why didn’t he call me? We’ve been…we’re…”

Boyd snorted. “Yeah, I can smell it on you. And I don’t know the answer to that. I kept an eye on him—I figured you’d have wanted me to, and I was overseeing that bridal shower at the pool. He was serving in the lounge when Jennifer and Duke came in…”

Derek’s grip on the railing went so tight, it dented the metal. “He what. They…they what?”

Boyd shrugged. “I figured you knew. They took a meeting in there with the rest of Alpha Corp. Kali, Ennis, Aiden…”

Derek swore under his breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “Stiles served them?”

“He was the only server on duty. It’s Thursday lunches, and every guest we had was part of a catered party. It’s protocol,” Boyd said before Derek could get furious about Stiles working alone.

Derek licked his lips. “I…I need to find him. I have a terrible feeling and I just…I need to find him.”

“So go,” Boyd said. “I’ll call your mother and ask her to come down for the night. She’ll understand.”

“I haven’t told her Stiles is my mate,” Derek confessed.

Boyd rolled his eyes. “If you don’t realize she already knows, you clearly don’t know your mother that well.”

Derek opened his mouth to argue, but realized he had no argument in him. It was true, and frankly right then, he didn’t care. He gave Boyd a grateful nod, then hurried along to his car. He didn’t care what speed limits he’d have to break, he just needed to find Stiles.

_ _ _ 

Stiles woke in the dark, his head pounding, hands tied. His stomach rolled with nausea as he was flung to the side, and he realized he was in the back of a vehicle. He was alone, and injured, but he could feel a gentle tapping on his left side—like his little bun was letting him know she was still with him, and safe.

He struggled to remember how he’d gotten where he was, but everything was foggy. It had been a rough afternoon. Duke had shown up, baring his teeth and making vague threats while the rest of the table laughed. Stiles had done his best, and there had been no complaints, but when the table was getting ready to leave, Duke stopped him with a bruising grip on his wrist.

“You smell like him. Like Derek.”

Stiles tried to pull away, but the wolf’s grip was a vice. “That’s because I’m dating him, and I’m carrying his baby.” It was common knowledge at this point, and if he tried to lie, Duke would hear it.

With another sniff, Duke stepped back and smiled. “More than dating, isn’t it? I dare say you two are mated.”

Stiles’ eyes widened. “I…that’s not. No. We’re not mated. That’s not even a thing that happens with humans.”

“Ah,” Duke said with a frightening smile, “that’s only partially correct. That’s not a thing that happens often. But it seems you are…unique.” He leaned in and sniffed once more. “I suppose I will be seeing you again, Mr. Stilinski. In a manner of speaking.”

Stiles pulled a face. “Not if I can help it.”

The wolf only laughed, and Stiles didn’t miss the way the rest of them watched him as he walked back to the bar, or the way Jennifer smiled. He felt terrified and unsafe. He considered calling Derek, but he didn’t want to ruin his day over something so small like pregnancy hormones.

So he called Scott instead, then told Annie he was feeling too sick to finish his shift. She didn’t seem to mind—the tips would be better that way and frankly it didn’t look like anyone else was coming in. So he got dressed, and Scott arrived in his mom’s Toyota, and they left.

He remembered getting home, and sitting on the couch with a Star Wars marathon. He remembered the afternoon getting late, and thinking he should call Derek. Then his doorbell rang and he smiled, thinking it was his wolf coming for him.

And everything went black.

Now, in the back of the SUV, tied up and no idea what was going to happen, Stiles closed his eyes and prayed that Derek would be able to track his scent. At the very least, before something happened to their baby.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for mild violence, blood, and character injury.
> 
> Next chapter is the last, followed by an epilogue. (: I know I'm way behind on comments, and I really apologize for that. But know I've read them all and they've kept me motivated to finish this story fast! You are all the very best <3

Derek didn’t remember most of the drive over to Stiles’ place, only the insistent press of his foot on the gas, and the trees, streets, and homes flying by. He peeled to a stop in front of the curb, and for only a moment, relaxed to see Stiles’ jeep in the drive. Then he stepped out and noticed two very distinct things. 

The first, he couldn’t hear the beat of Stiles’ heart, or his child’s. And the second, he smelled blood. 

Derek’s claws were out before he realized it, and as he approached the steps to the front door, he could smell them—the Alphas. Deucalion’s scent was faint, but present, and Kali, who had permeated the boardroom earlier that day. He swore Jennifer’s was in the air too, but there were too many humans in the background, he couldn’t be certain. 

With a shuddering breath, Derek pressed his hand to the knob and felt it give. He pushed the door open, and the stench of blood was stronger. It made sense a moment later, when Scott stumbled out of the kitchen with a towel wrapped around ice pressed to a wound in the side of his head. 

“Derek!” 

Derek’s eyes flashed electric blue. “Where’s Stiles?” 

“He thought it was you,” Scott said with a grimace. There was a knock at the door, and he thought it might be you. I heard him yell, and came running, but one of those assholes clocked me upside the head and knocked me out. When I woke up, he was gone. I just got off the phone with his dad.” 

Derek’s fangs poked out of his gums, and he had to breathe through the urge to fully shift and go running. Turning on his heel, he stormed out and took a deep, heavy breath. Stiles’ scent lingered, but it was faint. Too faint to follow. 

He was reaching into his pocket before he was aware of it, and he brought up his mom’s number. 

“I already know,” she said by way of answer. 

Derek closed his eyes and felt an ugly twist in his chest as he pressed his forehead to the porch banister. “Mom…” 

“They want to negotiate for shares,” Talia said. “They won’t hurt the baby. It’s their only leverage.” 

Derek’s hands were shaking, and he started to pace. “They might not hurt the baby, but they’ve already hurt him. I can feel it.” 

“Derek,” she said quietly. 

“He’s my mate,” Derek confessed, though he was certain she already knew. “And they have him, and…” 

“I’ve already made some calls. Duke and his people have been burning far too many bridges for us not to have allies in this, Derek. I promise, we’ll get him back.” Her voice was steady, but Derek wasn’t ready to believe her. 

“Alive?” he pressed. “Will he and my child come back alive, and in one piece?” Derek felt a roar building in his chest, and he breathed through it. “He’ll never trust me after this. He’ll think of us like…monsters.” 

“He won’t,” Talia assured him. “I’ve been watching him for a while now, looking into his background. Derek, I might not fully understand why he’s your mate, but I know that it’s for a reason. And your mate is not going to think you’re a monster because people are capable of monstrous things. His father is a cop. He’s seen just how beastly humans can be, too.” 

Derek squeezed his eyes shut. “They can have whatever they want. I just want him back.” 

“They want the hotel, Derek,” Talia warned him. “They want territory, and I’m not giving that up.” 

Derek’s hand tightened so hard on the phone he heard the pieces start to crack. “I don’t care about territory or business. Do you understand that.” 

Talia let out a breath. “I suppose I did once. Years ago, before everything…” She trailed off, then said, “I never wanted any of this for you.” 

Derek let out a humorless laugh. “Really?” 

“I know what ruined me and your father, but I didn’t have a choice. As Alpha, my responsibilities have always been to my pack, and my people, and this town.” 

“And now the life of my child and my mate is in danger because of that power,” Derek spat. “I can’t…I can’t do this. I need him back. Give them whatever they want.” 

“You know if we do that, he’ll be in even more danger,” she warned him. “They cull the weak from the herd.” 

Derek shook his head. “Then find him. Before I do. Because if I get there first, I’m going to rip them to shreds.” He ended the call before she could respond. 

_ _ _ 

“So what are we going to do?” came a voice behind him. 

Derek had no idea how long he’d been standing outside, his nose turned into the breeze, desperate to catch a fresh wave of his mate’s scent. He turned and frowned at the human with the head injury. “ _We_ are not going to do anything.” 

Scott huffed. “Dude, that is my best friend those assholes just kidnapped. And if you think I’m just going to stand here and do nothing…” 

Derek clenched his jaw, but he could hear the determination in Scott’s voice, and the rapid but steady thrum of his heart. “They’ll tear you to pieces if you get anywhere near him.” 

Scott crossed his arms and gave Derek a look. “I’m human.” 

“Exactly my point,” Derek started. 

Scott shook his head. “The Alpha Corp exists as a public entity. They’ve already crossed a line kidnapping a human—not just a human, but the pregnant son of the town’s sheriff. Deucalion’s influence might stretch far, but not _that_ far. He’s from England, right? They extradite.” 

Derek blinked. “How do you know all of this?” 

“Because when my best friend decided to fall in love with an absurdly rich werewolf asshole five years ago, I started learning everything I could. Also Erica’s in law school, dude. And we talk. We’re friends.” 

Derek’s eyes widened, impressed by this bumbling human he hadn’t given much thought to apart from his role in Stiles’ life. He was hit with a profound realization that he had done exactly what Stiles had accused him of doing—he had dismissed people for their species. 

Before he could say any of it aloud, his phone began to ring. He didn’t recognize the number, but he had a feeling about it, and answered. “What?” 

“Is that any way to greet the former love of your life?” Jennifer’s voice was laughing, soft and cruel. How had he missed just how like Kate she was? 

“You were never that,” Derek told her. He had to remind himself to speak carefully, that she held Stiles’ safety in her hands. “What will it take to get this over with?” 

“You know what we want,” she told him plainly. 

“My mother will never relinquish territory. It doesn’t matter what you hold over my head,” Derek told her. “And you’ve known her long enough to understand that. So I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish.” 

There was a long pause, then Jennifer said, “It didn’t have to come to this, you know. Just…just a few months and I would have walked away with what I needed. Or…” She took a breath. “It could have been us and this baby.” 

“Fuck you,” hissed a voice in the background, and Derek’s heart clenched to hear Stiles. Jennifer must have done something then, because Stiles screamed, and then was silent. 

Derek had to use all of his control not to crush the phone in his palm. “Don’t,” he said, low and dangerous. “You tell your lover that he’s playing with fire—kidnapping a human. Does he have any idea what this will do to public image?” 

She laughed. “A human kidnapped him, Derek. Me.” 

Derek squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re letting him throw you under the bus for what, Jen? I won’t ever love you, and Duke will gladly see you rot in prison before accepting responsibility for what he’s making you do.” 

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” she hissed. 

Derek sighed. “I do, and you know I do. Which is probably why you’re calling me. Just…tell me where you are.” 

“Go to hell, Derek. You brought this on yourself.” After her words came another scream, and then the line went dead. 

Before Derek could crush the phone in his hands, it was plucked away, and Scott was actually smiling. “I have a friend…and uh…you might not like this. But I think he’s the only one that can help.” 

_ _ _ 

The only thing keeping him together in the moments of pain was that it was obvious Jennifer wasn’t trying to hurt the baby. He and his child were leverage against whatever they wanted from Derek. And though he didn’t fully understand the weight of being Derek’s mate, he knew it meant rescue. He just had to hang on. 

When Jennifer hung up from the call with Derek, she grabbed him by his hair, wrenching his head up. One eye was swollen and black, but the other fixed on her angry snarl. “What makes you better than me?” she spat. 

Stiles huffed a pained laugh. “Maybe because even if Derek had dumped my ass, I would never kidnap his pregnant partner and torture them?” 

Jennifer dropped his head, then placed a well timed kick to his back. His kidneys ached, but his brave, strong little bun was kicking strong, like she was giving Stiles the strength to keep it together until someone showed up for him.

He knew he wouldn’t be there forever. Scott was at his house, and his dad would return, and they would find him. Derek was aware Jennifer had him, and though Stiles didn’t know how, somewhere deep inside him, he knew Derek would show up.

He just had to hang on.

“He won’t protect you,” she said gripping him by the chin. “You’re human. You’re nothing. He’ll wait until that thing squirms out of you, and then you’ll be nothing.”

Stiles bit back his retort, knowing it would be better for him to say nothing. She eventually let him go, and though his arms ached from being tied behind his back, his body sagged gratefully against the cold concrete and he was finally allowed to rest.

_ _ _ 

Derek tried to tune into the argument between his mother and Noah Stilinski, but it was difficult. His every instinct was telling him to run, to find Stiles, to end this with claws and teeth, and damn the consequences. But he understood that with Deucalion putting Jennifer at the front of this, it meant any leverage they had over a wolf kidnapping a human was gone.

And if Derek hurt her, he would be just as guilty. And the last thing he wanted was to go to jail when his child was mere weeks away from birth.

“He won’t hurt the child,” Talia was saying calmly. “It’s his only leverage.”

“But he’s hurting my son,” Noah said, half rising from his chair. “I understand that you look down on humans…”

“I have more than one human child, Sheriff,” Talia said bluntly. “I do not love nor do I treat them less than my werewolf children. Your son’s life is important to me, but we must face facts. Duke is well aware that the child your son carries is my son’s only chance at having a biological child. He understands the gravity of that leverage, and he will use it.”

Derek shook his head, then looked up at Stiles’ dad. “Stiles is just as important to me as our child, and though Duke may not understand this, it’s not biology that I’m trying to protect, it’s the life of my daughter.”

Noah’s eyes went a little glassy with unshed tears, and he nodded. “So tell me what to do?”

“Aside from giving him what he wants,” Derek said.

“No,” Talia replied. “Derek, I cannot.”

“So lie,” Scott said.

Talia, Laura, Noah, and Derek all turned to look at the human who was watching them all with a raised brow.

“You do understand that wolves can hear a lie,” Laura said.

Scott snorted a laugh. “Wolves can hear when a human is not convinced of their own lie. Surely you know someone who is cunning enough to pass a lie detector. You just need to distract them long enough for Danny to work his magic.”

Derek held back his growl. It had taken swallowing every ounce of his pride to allow that man in on the case. He knew he wasn’t going to like Scott’s suggestion, but he let Scott climb into his car and direct him to an apartment to speak to a person who could trace Jennifer’s phone.

Derek understood exactly where they were the moment they stepped outside and he was overwhelmed with the scent of the man who tried to lay hands on his pregnant mate. Following Scott up the steps and asking that man—the man he had threatened—to find Stiles had been almost impossible. 

But Stiles life, and the life of their baby, was on the line. So really, it had been no choice at all.

“Danny said he needs two hours. So who do you know…”

“Me.” The voice came from the doorway, and Derek was unsurprised when Peter walked through. “I can do it.”

Laura groaned and rolled her eyes, and Talia shook her head. “He won’t trust you.”

“But he’s arrogant enough to think that he can read my heart,” Peter said

Derek had grown to understand Duke’s biggest weakness—not his blindness, but his hubris. As much as he hated to admit it, Peter was right.

“We need to draw them out, and distract them. Jennifer will be no match for a team of wolves to rescue Stiles,” Scott said. “And it can’t be Derek.”

Derek rose, ready to shout Scott down, but Talia lifted her hand. “He’s not wrong, Derek. They’ll be expecting you. If you’re with us, confronting Duke and his pack, they’ll drop their guard on Stiles.”

Derek’s eyes went wide with incredulity. “Then who the hell is going to rescue him.”

Scott stood up and with absolute finality in his voice said, “I will.”

_ _ _ 

Derek was ready to punch through a wall at the very idea of putting the safety of his mate in the hands of a human. As much as the logistics made sense—Scott wouldn’t be going alone, they’d have undercover police back-up, and Scott wasn’t totally useless when it came to fighting—it made him uneasy.

They’d be facing off Duke and the rest of the Alphas—all of them stronger than the betas in Talia’s pack. But Danny had come through with Stiles’ location, and Duke had risen to Peter’s bait. They had to draw Duke out, put up enough of a fight that whatever guard around Stiles came in to help—once they saw all the wolves had come to the wolf fight, they’d leave Stiles in the care of Jennifer.

The last twist was the cameras. Danny was setting up a perimeter of cameras that would feed into the Sheriff’s station. It would build a case against Duke and his pack. If they could get away cleanly, without any deaths, Duke would be forced to leave the country, and the Alpha Corp would be disbanded. Talia would have a lawsuit, would tangle their funds up in litigation, and it would eviscerate their finances.

The hotel would be safe, Derek would win respect with their partners, and he would be free to go back to his life of wooing his mate, and preparing for the birth of his daughter.

Assuming it all went to plan, and that no one struck a killing blow.

Derek was terrified of this, but it was all for Stiles.

Once this was done, he’d be free of Jennifer, and from Duke’s influence. Stiles would be safe.

It would all be worth it.

_ _ _ 

In the end, it was climactic, and surprisingly went to plan. Derek had forgotten what formidable fighters his wolf sisters were. They were betas, but Laura was Alpha in training, and there was a reason his mother had respect and reputation across the globe. She had Duke by the throat within minutes, and though Derek was all-but bleeding out from Kali’s claws, they backed down once Duke had been forced to submit.

In the fog of his injury, he heard someone say that Stiles was out and being transported to the hospital, and as much as Derek wanted to get up and shift, and run after him, he couldn’t move. His body was knitting back together, but slower than it ever had thanks to the injury from an Alpha.

The police swarmed the building, and with video evidence, and with the testimony of the Hale Pack, Duke and the rest were taken in. Derek had no idea what would happen to them when it was over, but for now he knew everyone was safe.

He allowed himself to sink into a healing fog, and when they began to transfer him to a hospital for recuperation, he didn’t fight them.

_ _ _ 

Stiles woke up in pain, but on a soft bed, the smell of anesthetic around him which told him he was in the hospital. His right eye was nothing more than a blur, still swollen, and his ribs and kidneys ached, but the mild drugs he was allowed to take while being pregnant took the edge off.

With a groan, he rolled onto his side and saw his dad standing there looking concerned and a little furious. 

“The baby…”

“Perfect,” Noah said, then sank into the chair and rubbed his hands down his face. “You sustained a few internal injuries, but they said you’ll make a full recovery. You’re on bedrest from now until the birth, probably.”

Stiles huffed. “I’m fine with it, trust me. I’ve had enough adventure for pretty much the rest of my life.”

Noah pushed up, then leaned over to brush his hand through Stiles’ hair. “You did good. And as much as I don’t love the fact that you’re in a relationship with a person whose life might put you in danger like that again, Derek’s a good guy. Smart, and was willing to sacrifice his life for you.”

At that, Stiles sat up, ignoring the pain as he grabbed at his father. “He what? Dad, he’s not…” His voice cracked at the end.

“No,” Noah said quickly, putting a soothing hand on Stiles’ neck. “He was hurt pretty bad, but he’s going to make a full recovery. He’s here. Up on the lycanthrope floor. Four, I think?”

“I need to see him,” Stiles said, trying to swing his legs around the edge of the bed.

Noah shoved him back. “The hell you will. Not right now. You still have an IV and you can’t risk anymore danger to that baby. Tomorrow. Maybe.”

Stiles scowled, but let his dad bully him back against the pillows. “This is bullshit.”

Noah rolled his eyes. “Hate me all you want. I’ll sleep soundly knowing that you’re not going to hurt yourself worse. Stiles, you have no idea what it was like to see you that way.”

Stiles swallowed thickly. He’d been out of it for most of the fight, but he’d come around a few times—to see his dad being nearly strangled to death by Jennifer—to see Scott take her down. To see cops swarm the place and take her away in cuffs. Once the ropes were gone and he could feel his fingers, Stiles let himself succumb to the relief of rescue.

“What happened to him?” he asked. “How did he find me? I mean, Deucalion…”

“He and the rest of his pack have been arrested by proper authorities, and they’re handling it. Your friend Danny managed to get it all on video, providing the FBI with all the evidence they need to keep him locked up. The same goes for Jennifer.”

Stiles squeezed his eyes shut. “How bad was it?”

“As far as I know, one of the other Alphas got Derek with claws, but nothing fatal. Talia got Duke to submit, which cost him a lot of power.” Noah sighed and brushed his hand down Stiles’ cheek. “They can’t hurt you again.”

Stiles wasn’t sure he’d ever feel safe with them still alive, but he trusted his father—and he trusted Derek. He’d been a little hurt to find Derek wasn’t there, but he hadn’t been alone, either. The physical pain would heal, and then they’d move on.

He reached down and pressed his hand over his belly where the baby was kicking away, gentle taps along his ribs. “She’s a survivor,” Stiles murmured.

“Just like her dads,” Noah added.

The machine next to his bed clicked, and another dose of whatever he was allowed to take rushed through the IV. He felt a wave of fog, and let sleep take him.

_ _ _ 

The next time Stiles was aware, warm arms were reaching around him, holding him tight. He didn’t need to open his eyes to look. He knew that embrace anywhere.

“I thought you were injured,” he said, his tongue thick with sleep and drugs.

Derek huffed against the back of his neck. “I am. But I could smell you, could hear your heart, and hers.” Derek’s hand drifted to the swell of his stomach. 

“We’re both fine. Safe. She’s going to be fine.”

Derek let out a small, almost inaudible wounded noise and pushed his face further into Stiles’ neck. “Never again.”

Stiles gripped Derek’s arm tight. “Never again,” he agreed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the main story, and next up is an epilogue set 5 years into the future.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope everyone liked it! <3
> 
> Warnings for non-graphic labor and delivery (via c-section)

“I can’t go,” Stiles said, crossing his arms just above the swell of his stomach. He deliberately stared anywhere else but at the figure of Derek looming in the doorway. “I can’t even fit out the front door.”

“You’re being dramatic,” Derek said, raising a brow.

Stiles looked over, his eyes narrowed in a glare. “Am I? I mean, I’m the one as big as a fucking whale here, Derek. You’re trying to tell me that I’m being dramatic?”

Derek huffed, pushing away from the wall, and walked right up into Stiles’ space. His hand came out, laying flat over the mound of Stiles’ belly, and rubbed downward. “You’re big, because you’re growing a person inside of you. A person, who is now almost the size of a fully grown newborn. If you weren’t big, we’d have to be worried.”

Stiles’ bit down on his bottom lip and stared down at the love Derek was paying to said belly holding the almost fully grown baby. “I hate when people look at me.”

Derek reached up and cupped his cheek. “We’re going to a birthing center where half the partners in there will be in the exact same condition as you,” he reminded him. “So if they judge you, they’ve clearly got other issues going on.”

Stiles wrinkled his nose. “I’ve seen those fitness assholes on Instagram, Der. Okay? The ones that are like point four percent body-fat, and have an hourglass shape with a baby growing inside of them.”

Derek rolled his eyes and tangled his fingers with Stiles’, urging him toward the door. “Pretty sure Beacon General Labor Class isn’t going to have Instagram famous fitness gurus in the class.” 

“Yeah well, I’m pretty sure most of the people in that class haven’t spent the last ten weeks laying around in bed, Derek,” Stiles bit back.

Derek paused, turning to wrap his hand around the back of Stiles’ neck. “You were recovering from serious injury, Stiles. You didn’t have a choice. And even if you did, it wouldn’t matter. You need to treat your body well, okay? It’s growing a person.” He leaned in and kissed him gently on the mouth. “That’s a pretty incredible thing it’s capable of doing. Be kind to it.”

“God, you’re such a sap. It’s disgusting,” Stiles groaned, but grabbed onto Derek’s hips and led the way into a filthy kiss.

Derek eventually broke it off with a groan, then shook himself out of the daze before pulling Stiles toward the door. “Enough trying to distract me. You’ve been looking forward to this class for a while now, and you’ve been bitching non-stop about how you have cabin fever.”

“Don’t get all logical on me, Mr. Spock,” Stiles complained, but allowed Derek to drag him out the door, and to the car. He was driving some sort of hybrid type car thing—he spent weeks obsessing about safety ratings and portability and generally driving Stiles up the wall until he finally caved and bought it.

He kept the Camaro, though he parked it in the hotel garage, and Stiles found he was missing it as they puttered along the road in near silence.

Things had been good for them since Duke and Jennifer had been put away. The trial was dragging on, but the evidence was heavy enough that they didn’t have a chance of release. Deucalion was trying to negotiate extradition, which selfishly Stiles was hoping for because having an ocean between him and the man who had nearly had him killed was the only way he was really going to feel safe.

Stiles would never admit aloud—especially not to Derek—but he felt pity for Jennifer. He had no idea what made her the way she was, or created a person who would go after Stiles the way she had. But clearly the woman had suffered, and her marriage to Derek—while it might have been about convenience and money, hadn’t done either of them any good.

Of course, his pity wasn’t enough to erase the trauma he’d suffered at her hands. No amount of trouble in her past justified what she’d done, even if it was under Duke’s orders. She’d threatened his life, and the life of his child, all to manipulate the Hales, and Stiles would never understand, nor would he forgive.

Still, he’d healed. He’d gone back to Derek’s the moment he was released, ensconced in Derek’s soft bed, and spoiled by Derek taking several weeks off from work to care for him. He didn’t ask who was running the business, or how it would affect Derek’s position. He just accepted the gift for what it was.

Their relationship was good. They fought, because Stiles was mouthy and stubborn, and Derek was still prone to brooding silences and he became defensive in the face of opening up and being vulnerable. But they were learning, and they were enjoying each other and the short time they had before the baby arrived and things changed.

Stiles found himself excited about the prospect, though, and from what he could tell from Derek, they were on the same page.

“Can we get curly fries and milkshakes after this. Joe’s has s’mores milkshakes and I need one like I need air, Derek.”

Derek glanced over, giving Stiles an unimpressed stare. “You know they give you heartburn.”

Stiles huffed and crossed his arms petulantly. “Why don’t you let me worry about that, hmm? It’s my throat that’ll be on fire, not yours.”

“And I’ll be the one sucking up your pain and fetching you Tums every ten seconds,” Derek reminded him. But there was resignation in his voice that told Stiles curly fries and milkshakes were on the horizon.

He smiled happily to himself as Derek pulled into the hospital parking lot.

_ _ _ 

“Alright, now I want you to press your palms together, and stare into your partner’s eyes, and feel the power coming from the womb. Feel the light emanating from their genitals.”

Derek had to bite his cheek so hard it nearly bled to keep from laughing, and he was looking anywhere other than Stiles’ eyes. They were seconds away from being thrown out, he could feel it.

“So, about those curly fries,” Stiles muttered.

“Oh my god, are you serious, because I will buy you a lifetime supply if we can get out of here right now,” Derek muttered back.

“Now, non pregnant partners, I want you to lean down and speak to your partner’s womb through their opening, letting them know that you are willing to accept that power into yourself.”

Stiles lost it. Derek was frankly impressed that he’d lasted this long, and he managed to stand up, and haul Stiles to his feet. “Uh. We have to…yeah,” he managed.

The woman looked disgruntled, but Derek didn’t care as he and Stiles tangled their fingers together and rushed out of there. Stiles was howling, holding his sides as Derek dragged him to the car.

“Did that just happen, or was that some weird, elaborate hallucination caused by bun bouncing on my bladder all night and keeping me up?” Stiles gasped, swiping at his cheeks.

“I don’t know. Maybe there was an odorless gas drugging us all,” Derek said as he threw the car into drive and hurried away. “I can’t believe I paid for that class. Five hundred bucks, Stiles.”

Stiles looked at Derek again, then burst into laughter. “Oh my god, you just paid five hundred bucks to talk to my asshole in public! This is the greatest day of my life.”

“Shut up,” Derek growled, but his cheeks were aching from how wide he was smiling.

_ _ _ 

“I think I’ve got it.”

Stiles’ voice roused Derek from his half slumber. Stiles was sitting up in bed, and Derek had curled up just under the swell of his belly, lulled into a drowse by the sound of his baby’s heartbeat. He came to the surface of consciousness slowly, shifting so he could look up at Stiles.

“Hmm?”

Stiles dug his fingers into Derek’s hair. “The name?” The hand not in Derek’s hair was holding one of their international baby name books, and his thumb was pressed in between two pages.

Derek sat up, scrubbing the sleep from his eyes. “What is it?”

“Emine,” Stiles said. “It means brave and courageous, which I think she’s earned for her strength during…you know.” Stiles rubbed his hand low on his belly where the doctor had said her head was now resting. “We could call her Emi.”

Derek rolled the name around on his tongue. “Emine Claudia. Emi.” His lips stretched into a grin. “I like it.”

Stiles let out a puff of air. “Just in time, right?”

Derek frowned until he realized what Stiles was talking about. The big family dinner that night—with Noah and Scott attending, and almost all of Derek’s sisters. Including Laura, which was the real test. Derek was still sore about the whole thing, though Stiles had mostly become ambivalent toward her. But Derek knew Noah smelled like rage every time Laura was brought up.

Things had been better. Laura had gone to therapy, she finalized her divorce, she was in a good, healthy relationship with Braeden. Though Stiles had eventually dropped the suit against her—much to the dismay of many people in his life—Laura’s license had still been suspended, but she was working hard to get back to practicing.

Though Derek thought there would be a piece of him that was always angry for what she’d done, he had to agree with Stiles. Laura didn’t deserve to have her entire life ruined for a mistake. One that she very, obviously, wouldn’t make again.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel apprehensive about the night. In truth, it would be a test run. He wanted nothing more than to propose to his mate, nothing more than to make it official, and binding, but he wasn’t sure Stiles would feel the same way if their families didn’t get along.

Derek was on good terms with the Sheriff, and Talia was always pleasant. The Sheriff appreciated what Talia had done in order to get Stiles back safely, but as a human, he would always be afraid for his son’s safety. And Derek couldn’t blame him. He loved Stiles more than he had ever loved anyone before, and he was afraid every moment of every day.

All the same, he had the ring, and if it felt right, he would ask. He didn’t think Stiles would turn him down, but he couldn’t help a fear of the unknown.

“Hey,” Stiles said, tipping his fingers under Derek’s chin to draw his gaze up. “You got all broody.”

Derek rolled his eyes and pushed Stiles’ hand away, but he stayed close. “I’m not brooding. This is just my face.”

“Trust me, sourwolf,” Stiles said, making Derek glower, “I know the difference between your resting grump face and your brooding face. You need to relax.”

“I’ll relax when tonight is over and everyone walks away with all their limbs attached,” Derek muttered.

Stiles huffed, but dragged Derek in for a cuddle. “Look, I know my dad’s still a little…touchy about Laura,” Derek snorted at the understatement, “and I can’t promise he’ll ever get over it. But pretty soon he’s going to have a little grandbaby to spoil, and I _can_ promise that’ll soften his crispy outer shell.”

Derek couldn’t help a small chuckle, and he nosed against Stiles’ neck. “I love you.”

Stiles hummed with pleasure, turning slightly so their lips could meet. It didn’t go much further than that. Stiles was uncomfortable all the time, which didn’t lend itself to getting more physical than kissing, and the occasional hand-job which Derek had to provide since Stiles’ belly was too big now. But Derek was okay with it. More than. His sex drive was still low, even with the added hormones, and more than anything in the world, he was just grateful to have Stiles in his arms.

The kissing eventually stopped, and Derek dragged Stiles into the shower with him—more to keep him from falling than for selfish naked reasons. They didn’t linger, both of them obviously nervous, and they dressed in mostly silence.

“Okay,” Stiles said as he grabbed his phone and his oversized hoodie, “let’s do this thing.”

Derek pulled a face but nodded as he took Stiles’ hand, and they made their way to the elevator which would take them one floor down to Talia’s suite.

_ _ _ 

The dinner…could have been worse. That’s all Derek’s really willing to give it. Laura endured passive aggressive barbs from the Sheriff, Talia tried to make peace, Derek’s other sisters and Scott watched the whole thing like it was the latest Reality TV show, and Stiles’ hand stayed firmly planted in Derek’s unless he needed it for eating.

The mood was so tense, neither of them decided to break it by offering up the new baby name, and the moment Talia said, “Stiles, sweetheart, you look exhausted,” Derek jumped on the out.

“We should get upstairs and get to bed. Stiles has the doctor in the morning, and it’s an early appointment.” He then ignored the pointed look Noah gave him, and the silently pleading one Laura shot him which was her way of asking for time alone.

It wasn’t even out of malice that he ignored her, but sheer fatigue as he bowed under the weight of trying to keep his family and Stiles’ family from turning into a bloody war.

In the elevator, Stiles sagged against Derek’s chest. “Well… that was uh…”

Derek snorted. “Yeah. It was. But we lived.”

“And we’ve been through worse,” Stiles told him as the elevator doors opened. For a moment Derek thought Stiles was talking about Jennifer and Duke, but then he turned with a grin and said, “I mean, at least none of them asked us to commune with the energy of our genitals.”

Derek burst into surprised laughter, tugging Stiles close, then kissed him fierce and possessive. He loved his man. So much. And he knew that it was right, and regardless of whatever madness their families brought them, he wanted to marry him.

He found himself sinking down to one knee, still holding Stiles’ hand, groping into his pocket for the ring which was loose and had bits of lint stuck to it. Stiles’ eyes went wide, his mouth dropping open.

“I don’t have a speech prepared, and you know me. I wouldn’t deliver it right even if I did. I just know that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So will you…”

“Oh my god,” Stiles whispered, and Derek heard his heart-rate ratchet up, and a new, unfamiliar smell mingled in his usual scent. 

“Marry me.”

“No,” Stiles said.

Derek felt like he’d been sucker punched by a two ton fist made of pure ice. “Stiles,” he whispered.

“No,” Stiles said, and wrenched his hand away from Derek. “I mean…I mean I love you, and I want to…but Derek…”

Then Derek felt it, and he _smelled_ it. He glanced down to see a dark stain spreading on Stiles’ jeans. “Oh my god,” he said. “Did your…”

“Water just break?” Stiles asked, now sounding panicked and on the verge of hysterical. “I mean, unless I pissed myself, which the doctor said I could, but … but Derek. Fuck. It’s early. It’s too early. She’s not…I’m not ready. We’re not ready!”

Derek was instantly on his feet, dragging Stiles close. “You’re ready,” he told him firmly. “We are ready, and obviously, so is Emi.”

Stiles froze at the sound of the name, and the corners of his lips twitched up, even though he was still trembling. “Okay. What do we do?”

Derek took a breath, then tried to remember their plan. The hospital was a seven minute drive, and so far it just seemed like Stiles’ water was broken, but no contractions. He was having a c-section, which meant they needed to get him into the OR before the real labor started to avoid complications.

“I’m going to call the doctor, and you go get your bag, and we’re heading down to the car.”

“What about the rest of the…” Stiles’ words cut off when the elevator doors opened and five Hales, one McCall and one Stilinski all piled out.

“I heard it,” Talia said.

Derek clenched his jaw. “Seriously, mother?”

“You need someone to drive so you can sit in the back with Stiles. Someone who can be calm about this and not break any laws, and not panic.”

He hated when she was right.

The only thing Derek would give his family is that they followed directions quickly—used to taking orders from their Alpha. Only it was also Noah barking them out, and soon enough Derek was helping Stiles change, and Cora was getting Stiles’ bag, and Scott was raiding Derek’s kitchen and packing waiting room snacks.

It was total chaos, but within ten minutes they were in the car, Derek and Stiles in the back, Noah and Talia up front, and the rest of the pack behind them in Laura’s car.

“I think I’m having a contraction,” Stiles said quietly. He pressed his hand over his stomach, and Derek reached down to inspect it. The skin was rock hard, and Derek sighed. 

“I think so too. How bad is it?”

“Like a two,” Stiles said with a snort.

“That won’t last, son,” Noah offered. “By the end there, your mother was threatening to eviscerate me with a dull kitchen knife.”

Derek shook his head and kissed Stiles on the neck. “Fortunately we’re almost there, and they’re going to give you the good shit, and then we’re going to be parents.”

Stiles let out a shaky laugh. “Oh god. We’re going to be parents.”

_ _ _ 

Stiles knew logically what to expect out of the birth, but when it came down to it, his panic overrode most of his instincts and he was in a fog until he heard the sharp cry of the baby which had been removed from his totally numb bottom half.

Derek was by his head, gripping his hand the entire time, and the rest went on behind a large sheet protecting Stiles from the worst of it. He felt firm tugs and a lot of pressure, and he was startled when the doctor told him he was stitched back up and was ready to see his baby.

She was small, and kind of a purplish red, with a thatch of black hair that poked out of the yellow knit cap one of the nurses had jammed over her head. She was swaddled in a white hospital blanket, and her face was pinched and furious.

“Oh my god, she’s your clone,” Stiles muttered. Her eyebrows were small and faint, but the dark color and the shape told him she’d have the Hale Glower as soon as she was old enough to project it.

Derek was staring, silent, totally awed, his hand holding Stiles’ in a bruising grip.

“You want to take her dad?” the nurse asked Derek. “That way we can get papa situated in recovery.”

Stiles saw the way Derek’s hands shook as he reached for their daughter, but he also saw the fierce, strong grasp he had on her. He cradled her in the crook of his arm and couldn’t seem to take his eyes away as the doctor assessed Stiles’ incision one more time, then carefully moved him to another gurney to be transported to a recovery room.

It felt like an eternity before Stiles was allowed to sit up and take his baby, but the moment he had her in his arms, the rest of everything else melted away. His lower half was numb, tingling with a slow returning of sensation. The IV in his arm and the drugs they gave him left him a little groggy, but he was only aware of the small weight in his arm, and Derek’s warm presence at his side.

“Holy shit,” Stiles said, rubbing his hand on the swell of her pudgy cheek. “She’s perfect.”

_ _ _ 

Seven days later, she didn’t seem so perfect. She screamed, a lot. And slept a lot, but at the weirdest times, and only for just the amount of time it took Stiles and Derek to just reach an REM cycle. Then she was up again, to be fed, and changed, and rocked, and let them know her general displeasure with existing.

“We should have come up with a name that meant, never cries ever, and sleeps through the night, and potty trains at two weeks old,” Stiles said as he reached for both his coffee and the bottle which was in the warmer.

Derek chuckled a little bit as he rocked Emi from side to side, and accepted the bottle when Stiles passed it over. “She’s just getting used to existing outside of you.”

“Uh huh. Well I’m going to cease existing. I’m literally going to implode from exhaustion and it’ll be like I never was if I can’t get at least an hour of sleep. And you have meetings all week next week.” Stiles rested his head on the side of the counter and for a second, swore he took a micro nap.

“I’m sorry,” Derek said after a moment, and looked torn. “I wanted to…I mean, my mom’s helping as much as she can, and I meant to have more time but…”

“Der,” Stiles said tiredly, and pressed his hand to his sore belly. “I know. And I mean, we live here at your work, so it’s not like you’re ever far. But she’s not the only one adjusting, and I’m scared I’m never going to feel normal.”

Derek gave him a soft look, but Stiles was grateful when he didn’t offer any platitudes.

_ _ _ 

Talia came over two weeks later, sweeping Emi into her arms, her diaper bag hooked over her shoulder. When Stiles opened his mouth to protest, she gave him a stern glare. “Not a word. You two will get exactly four hours to sleep, and watch TV, and take a shower—please take a shower—and Em and I will be one floor down so Derek will be able to hear her if he needs to. Though if he knows what’s good for him, he will not be listening.”

Derek and Stiles stared, mouths hanging open, as she bustled out of the loft and left them alone.

“Did she just…”

Derek sighed. “Yep. She just.”

Stiles shook his head, but in truth, he wasn’t too upset about it. Emi was literally a floor down below them, in the capable hands of her grandmother, and there was a bed waiting. And more than fifteen minutes of uninterrupted sleep. 

He let Derek carefully lead the way into the bedroom, and he couldn’t lie, the cool sheets and promise of actual rest was better than any orgasm he’d ever had. Which, if he was counting, wasn’t actually a lot. But the fact still remained.

His eyes started to drift closed when his head hit the pillow, but he peered one open when he felt Derek hovering at the edge of the bed. He turned on his side, staring at him. “You okay?”

Derek looked nervous, and Stiles started to panic for a second—right up until the moment Derek sank down to one knee. Stiles felt his breath hitch, but Derek didn’t let him start talking. “I asked you this before, and I think maybe you wanted to say yes, but Emi seemed pretty set on not letting either of us steal her thunder that night.”

Stiles laughed, his eyes hot and watery. “Derek.”

Derek tried for a smile, but it was clear his throat was thick with emotion, and his face didn’t want to cooperate. “I’m hoping it’s still a yes.” He held the ring out, and Stiles reached over, letting his fingertips brush along the platinum.

“Of course it’s a yes.”

This time Derek did smile as he reached out and slipped the ring onto Stiles’ hand. It was a slightly tight fit, but he got it over the knuckle, and Stiles stared in wonder at the sight until Derek’s lips met his in a slow, careful kiss.

“You’re everything I have ever wanted. Everything I will ever want,” Derek murmured against his mouth.

Stiles shuffled over, drawing Derek under the covers with him, and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Same. I’m not going to be eloquent because we have a three week old who hasn’t let me sleep more than twenty minutes at a time, but I do feel the same. There’s nowhere else I want to be right now.”

Derek carefully turned Stiles so he could press his nose into the back of his neck, and his hand fell over his scar, a sudden light feeling as he pulled some of the pain away. “Sleep now. We have the rest of our lives for everything else.”

Stiles grinned, and let the that thought carry him into his dreams.


	14. Epilogue

**Five Years Later**

“Daddeeeeeee.”

Derek sighed as he reached down, hitching their three year old onto his hip and ignoring the screams of the five year old in the background. “Lila Elizabeth,” he said sternly.

She sniffed, her bottom lip pouting outward, looking so much like Stiles it scared him sometimes. He had a hard time saying no to her, but then again, he had a hard time saying no to either of their kids. “Sowwy, daddee,” she said.

Derek sighed and gave her hair a pet before setting her down and walking to the play room. Emi was sitting in the middle, arms crossed, the doll in front of her with the hair cut into tatters. Derek crossed the room and sat down next to her.

“She said she was sorry, Em.”

Emine’s jaw tightened. “But papa says that if you do it again that means you’re not sorry and she did it again!”

“I know. But Lila’s only three, and three year olds sometimes make mistakes more than once.”

Emi didn’t look convinced. “I don’t like her.”

“I’m pretty sure she’d say the same thing about you sometimes,” Derek told her gently.

Emi looked offended. “Can I go to grammas by myself?”

Derek laughed, thinking of the entire twenty four hours he was going to have with his husband without children underfoot. “Nope. Grandma has big plans for you.”

“With Auntie Laura?” she asked, suddenly bright and excited.

It was some sort of irony that Emi’s favorite aunt had become Laura—her reason for existing really, though Derek had threatened Laura within an inch of her life if she ever told Emi that. But over five years, things had smoothed out, and Laura had even helped find Hale donor sperm so they could have Lila, and it was hard to stay mad after that.

“Yes, with Auntie Laura. I think she’s taking you two to that big water park.”

Emi squealed, then ran over to her bed where she began haphazardly throwing clothes into her open suitcase.

A few moments later, Stiles walked in holding the hand of a contrite looking Lila. “Now bug, what do we say?”

Lila wrinkled her nose and pointedly looked away from the thrashed doll. “Sowwy, Em. I won’t do it no more.”

Emi rolled her eyes, but shrugged. “It’s fine. Auntie is taking us to a water park!”

Lila squealed, and Stiles rolled his eyes, letting their youngest go so he could slide up to Derek. “And then you and I will be having our own amusement park kind of fun.”

“That is the worst euphemism I have ever heard,” Derek muttered, but he nosed along Stiles’ temple, then kissed under his ear. “You want to walk them down? I thought I could get a bath ready.”

Stiles grinned wickedly. “Yep. Girls, you ready? I think Gran and Auntie are waiting.”

Emi sat on her suitcase, zipping it closed as fast as she could, then tore out of the room after her sister. Derek heard Stiles get to the elevator just before the door opened, and he managed to wrangle both girls inside.

The loft was quiet without them, but it was a soothing sort of quiet. The kind that meant the fights and the apologies, the screams of anger and the shouts of joy, and the quiet whispered nothings were just around the corner.

Derek would have a full day to get his hands all over his husband—and he would use every moment wisely. Their five years together hadn’t been perfect, but bringing his girls home, putting a ring on Stiles’ finger, living up to his vows every single day, made it worth it.

Derek finished tidying up the house as the bath ran, and just before he turned the water off, he heard Stiles behind him. Turning, he couldn’t keep the smile from his face as Stiles sidled up to him and slid his arms around Derek’s waist.

“Just us, eh? You come here often?”

“Keep trying,” Derek muttered, then kissed him slow, wet, and desperate.

“Some day you’ll appreciate me for all my charm.”

Derek huffed, but tugged at Stiles’ shirt so he could kiss him skin-to-skin. “I’m not sure about that, but you do have other attributes that I would like to appreciate,” he dragged his nails along Stiles’ abs. “All night long.”

Stiles grinned wickedly. “I think I can live with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who left a kudo or a comment! You made my entire month <3 Huge thank you to my beta for working on my bad English. This is the longest thing I have ever written and you deserve many muffin baskets.
> 
> I hope to post a few things before term starts, but I want to say thank you to everyone for sticking with this <3


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